France threatens to block ports and slow-down customs checks as fishing row reaches boiling point
British officials fear France will escalate the post-Brexit dispute over fishing rights, according to the Telegraph.
Jean Castex, France’s prime minister, will unveil a series of retaliatory measures if French fishermen are not provided greater access to the UK’s coastal waters.
This could include cutting energy supplies to the UK and Jersey and blocking Britain’s fishing fleet from entering French ports.
French fishing leaders are already threatening to stop shipments in and out of Calais from Saturday morning.
This will only be avoided if they are granted more permits to operate off Britain’s coast.
France is furious the UK has only approved 15 permits out of 47 applications for small French fishing boats wanting to operate between six to 12 miles off its coast.
Castex will warn EU and UK negotiators debating the issue that they have until midnight on Friday to resolve matters.
If no agreement is found, he will unleash his planned package of reprisals.
The ensuing row deepens the developing rift between both countries, who have recently been at odds over Channel migrant crossings and the ‘Aukus’ submarine deal, which
France could also impose a go-slow strategy for customs checks on shipments to and from the UK ahead of Christmas.
The country could demand its customs officials to carry out more physical checks on shipments between Britain and France.
This would create backlogs that would severely hinder trade between both countries.
Companies could also be slapped with new surcharges to pay for the more vigorous controls on the French border.
However, France is unlikely to gain support for hitting British exports with trade tariffs from the European Commission or EU nations.
Some reportedly believe president Emmanuel Macron is using the row as part of his re-election campaign ahead of next year’s presidential ballot