France warned on Wednesday of retaliation in Brussels against the United Kingdom and Jersey over their refusal of many post-Brexit fishing licences, while French trawlermen threatened fresh protests and even an exports blockade.
Fishing rights for EU boats in UK waters was a key stumbling block to negotiations for a Brexit trade accord between London and Brussels, and threatened to sink the deal.
But the issue has come up once more after Britain on Tuesday said it would grant just 12 out of 47 applications for new licenses for small EU boats to fish in its territorial waters.
On Wednesday, the self-governing British Crown dependency of Jersey refused 75 applications from French boats, and issued 31 temporary licences: 75 bids were accepted.
French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said the decisions were unacceptable and inadmissible and “contravene the agreement that was signed in the framework of Brexit”, threatening retaliation via Brussels.
UK-French relations are already strained, with Paris accusing London of going behind its back to sign a new defence deal to provide US-built nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.
Dimitri Rogoff, president of the regional fisheries committee in Normandy, told AFP that fishermen were preparing to protest.
Olivier Lepretre, president of the regional fisheries committee in the northern Hauts-de-France region, added: “There comes a time when we must put pressure on the British side.”
He suggested the fishermen had the “port of Calais in their sights”, raising the possibility of a blockade on the key gateway for goods travelling from mainland Europe to Britain.
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