Traffic chaos as fishermen block roads and ports
FRENCH fishermen caused massive disruption for Channel crossings yesterday by blockading UK ships in a protest over Brexit licences.
Militant crews blocked French ports and ferry traffic. Boats were lined up at the entrance to SaintMalo port from dawn as they stopped the British Normandy Trader vessel from getting into the Brittany port from Jersey.
The move follows a bitter row over fishing rights.
Gerard Romiti, chairman of France’s powerful National Fisheries Committee, said that the blockades should be viewed as “warning shots”.
He said: “This is to demonstrate how professional fishermen come together in response to the UK’s provocative, contemptuous and humiliating attitude towards them.”
Downing Street said it was “closely monitoring the situation” and that it looked to the French authorities to ensure the free flow of traffic.
Meanwhile, French fishermen were also seen blocking trucks at the Eurotunnel Freight Terminal in Coquelles during a day of protests. Some started a fire to stop lorries.
The protests caused long delays for traffic heading for the Channel Tunnel, above.
No 10 insisted the Government is sticking to the rules on fishing agreed in the Brexit deal and its position “hasn’t changed”.
British authorities are “fulfilling our obligation” on fishing permits set under the terms of the Brexit deal, a Downing Street spokesman said.
French fishermen claim they should receive more licences to fish in UK and Channel Island waters under the terms of Britain’s trade deal with the EU. Before Brexit, they had free rights to fish in UK waters under EU law and only had to apply to their own government for a licence.
All vessels that fished in UK waters “for at least four years between 2012 and 2016” should be granted the same level of access until at least 2026, when it will be up to the UK and France to negotiate new deals.
The UK is asking French boats to provide tracking and fishing quota data for those years to qualify for a permit.
The French have protested, saying smaller vessels under 12m do not collect this data and are being unfairly punished. They argue that the Brexit Agreement makes no mention of such data.
Many fishermen claimed they had been “humiliated” by Britain over postBrexit operating licences.
Pascal Lecler, one of the crew members in Saint-Malo, said some 150 French boats are still waiting for Britain to grant them licences to fish in British waters.
He said: “We’re hostage to politics. It doesn’t make us happy to be here, but it can’t go on.”
Britain has issued almost 1,700 licences to EU boats where they could provide evidence of past fishing activity in UK waters in line with the terms of the trade deal.
President Emmanuel Macron was forced into a humiliating climbdown earlier this month after threatening to start a trade war over fishing rights.
The French premier was forced to pull the plug on plans for an official blockade after failing to secure any support from other EU nations.