France: French fishermen threaten to block Channel tunnel, ports amid license row with UK

French fishermen have threatened to block the English Channel tunnel and the port of Calais, Saint-Malo on Friday. The action has been carried out by the fishermen of Hauts-de-France, Brittany and Normandy, reported Le Figaro. The protesters have blocked the port of Saint-Malo and they planned to block Calais port and Ouistreham. This move of the fishermen comes amid the dispute between the UK and France over the fishing licenses.

Gerard Romiti, chairman of the French national fisheries committee, told Le Figaro that the fishermen were demanding the resolution of the dispute between Britain and France. The fishermen also intend to block access to the Channel Tunnel by the A16 motorway. Romiti highlighted that their patience has “limits”

French Fishermen threaten to block English Channel tunnel

Olivier Lepretre, president of the Hauts-de-France regional fisheries committee told Le Figaro that they have been waiting for a long time and they all are concerned about their future. Lepretre stated that they have been “disappointed” due to the threat of protests and further called on the French authorities to stop the unlawful actions in order to prevent the trade not getting affected.

Following Brexit, many French fishermen have been prohibited to access British water and islands of Jersey and Guernsey. The dispute between the UK and France is over the 150 licenses that have not been approved by the British authorities. Reportedly, the UK has refused to issue the licenses based on the lack of documents showing the activity of these French boats in English waters. As per the report, the UK has called on the French authorities for GPS readings and data of small fishing vessels.

Fishing dispute between France and Britain

The European Union has given a stern warning to the UK and France to resolve their fishing row by 10 December, according to ANI. The warning comes amid escalating tensions between France and the UK over fishermen row. The fishermen have complained that the post Brexit requirements by the UK were "too onerous". The dispute between France and UK sparked after the former demanded more fishing licenses from Britain and the Channel Island of Jersey as part of the post-Brexit agreement which was signed in 2020. According to the deal, those fishermen who can prove previous fishing journeys in British waters can continue to work, however, France and UK have remained differentiated over the evidence required for them.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: AP