Newsdeck

Brexit

France seizes British fishing boat in deepening post-Brexit row

BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, FRANCE - DECEMBER 08: A fisherman moors his vessel at Boulogne-sur-Mer, France's largest fishing port, where the bulk of the fish landed is caught in British waters, on December 08, 2020 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Although fishing is a small part of the economy both in the European Union and the United Kingdom, the issue of fishing rights carries emotional and political weight in both places. The 27-nation bloc is looking to maintain extensive access to UK territorial waters in exchange for special access to its single market, but the UK is looking to ensure its fishing fleets can claim a larger share of annual fishing quotas. A final deal must be agreed to by the EU member nations, and fishing rights are an especially sensitive issue in France, which shares a long nautical border with the UK. (Photo by Kiran Ridley/Getty Images)

LE HAVRE, France, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday condemned France's "disproportionate" seizure of a British fishing boat in French waters, marking a sharp deterioration in a row over post-Brexit fishing rights that is in danger of spinning out of control.

French Seas Minister Annick Girardin said the vessel was detained during routing checks off the northern port of Le Havre overnight as it was not allowed to fish in French territorial waters. A second British boat was given a verbal warning.

The action signalled France’s determination not to back down in the dispute after setting out potential sanctions against Britain if there is no progress in talks. They included extra customs checks on British goods and what was widely seen as a threat to reduce electricity exports to the United Kingdom or raise tariffs if talks fail.

“It’s not war, but it is a fight,” Girardin told RTL radio.

British fishing grounds are among the richest in the North East Atlantic zone, where most of the European Union’s catch is hauled in.

France’s actions appear intended as a warning shot to put pressure on Britain to compromise at talks with the EU.

But the British government said the French reaction was “disappointing and disproportionate, and not what we would expect from a close ally and partner”.

“We are aware of reports of enforcement activity being undertaken by the French authorities and are looking into the matter urgently,” it said in a statement.

Paris says Britain has refused to grant its fishermen the full number of licences to operate inside British waters that France says is warranted, though Britain says it is issuing licences to vessels that meet its criteria.

Paris said on Wednesday it would impose extra customs checks on British goods entering France from Nov. 2. It is also reviewing a second round of sanctions and has not excluded a review of exports of electricity to Britain.

“So now we need to speak the language of strength since that seems to be the only thing this British government understands,” European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune told CNews television channel.

Girardin made clear France could not cut off electricity supplies to Britain but said it could raise tariffs, a move that would squeeze household budgets at a time when energy prices are already spiralling.

Additional customs checks on goods travelling between Britain and the rest of Europe could seriously disrupt trade flows as businesses stock up for Christmas.

 

ELECTION LOOMING

Barrie Deas, head of Britain’s National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, said France appeared determined to escalate the licence row.

“I suppose we have to wonder why. There is a presidential election coming up in France and I think all the signs are that the rhetoric has been ramped up ahead of that on the fishing issue,” Deas told the BBC.

President Emmanuel Macron has not confirmed he will seek a second term in April’s election but is widely expected to run.

Senior French and EU officials have previously signalled they do not want the dispute to escalate. But Macron is under pressure from the vocal fishing lobby and coastal communities for whom fishing is a lifeline even though the industry makes only a small contribution to France’s economy.

The captain of the seized trawler, now under the control of French judicial authorities, could face criminal charges, with his catch confiscated, the maritime ministry said.

A group representing English fisherman identified the seized vessel as the Cornelis Gert Jan, a scallop dredger, and suggested it had the right to fish in French waters and may have been missed off an approved list by mistake.

Negotiations between Britain and the European Commission, the EU executive, have continued this week.

By Juliette Jabkhiro

(Reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro in Le havre, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Richard Lough, Michaela Cabrera and Layli Foroudi in Paris and Andrew MacAskill in London; Writing by Richard Lough and Timothy Heritage; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Catherine Evans).

Gallery

Comments - Please in order to comment.

  • Dhasagan Pillay says:

    For the sake of our local corrupt governmental officials – who’ve had a tough time grafting since the pandemic – let’s hope the British majority and Boris who DEMANDED Brexit consider all the goodies in the British museum and all the foreign sparkly bits in the crown jewels need to be expelled to their country of origin too.
    #smh

  • Johann Olivier says:

    Another step toward Great Britain becoming Little England. Oh, the harm Boris & his Buffoons have done. Perhaps a timely & salient message to ALL voters…

  • Rory Macnamara says:

    send Lord Nelson in to clean out the French as well as Wellington. gee they are annoying!

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.