French fishermen block ferries, Channel Tunnel
CALAIS, France: French fishermen on Friday disrupted cross-Channel traffic for several hours in protest at the postBrexit fishing rights granted by Britain, blocking ferries and freight traffic through the Channel Tunnel.
Half a dozen fishing boats blocked access to ferries at the northern port of Calais and the port of Ouistreham in Normandy to the west, AFP correspondents witnessed.
Later in the afternoon, the fishermen blocked access to the Channel Tunnel for freight traffic from the French side using several dozen cars and vans. Long queues of vehicles could be seen waiting for services to resume.
The protests on land and sea lasted several hours and had all but ended by the early evening, although union bosses have not ruled out further such actions in the future if their demands are not met.
“We want our licences back,” read an English-language banner brandished on one of the boats, the Marmouset II, in Calais.
In Ouistreham, where fishing boats stopped a ferry from leaving port, the vessels let off flares, filling the air with smoke.
“It’s a little bit of pressure on Europe. I am one of the privileged people who got the licence early, but we will not let our colleagues go under,” said fisherman Dominique Ramet. “The French government seems to be well aware of the problem, now it’s up to Europe to make the British feel it,” he added.
The regional chief of the CNPMEM, French fishing’s professional body, Olivier Lepretre said the action was intended to “put pressure on the British government”, and threatened other actions including on products imported from the UK.
A similar protest also took place at the port of Saint-Malo to the west, although it did not affect ferries as the morning’s traffic was cancelled due to bad weather.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday he was “disappointed by threats of protest activity”, adding that it was “a matter for the French to ensure that there are no illegal actions and that trade is not affected”.