The Teddies Review - Dec 2021

•

Increasing security checks on vessels and trucks

The Anglo-French fishing crisis: plus ça change or a la mode? There has always been a rivalry between France and the UK (or, England before that). Brexit has only made these tensions worse. So, why were there so many issues when it came to be following the treaty for fishing? Are these just petty squabbles or genuine imperfections in their deal? Following Brexit, the UK and the EU decided on a system where EU boats needed licenses to fish in UK (and Jersey) waters, and vice versa. The tension between the two nations escalated mainly due to the fact that in early November the UK rejected dozens of French boats by refusing to give them licenses. The exact reasons for this refusal are unclear, but it was probably due to lack of evidence that they had fished in that area in the past (which is necessary to gain a license). At the same time, France seized a British trawler under the pretext that it was not in the EU list of vessels which had licenses to fish in French waters but was then released as the British government provided proof of its licensing.

•

Cutting the electricity supply to Jersey

These are not small matters. The UK responded by saying that if these retaliations were to take place, they would see it as a violation of the treaty and may do the same thing to EU ships in UK waters. The UK also stated that these threats, especially that of cutting the electricity supply to Jersey, were hugely disproportionate. The British came to see this as not some legalistic battle between the UK and Europe , but a millennia-old grudge match between the UK and France. It might well have been that other factors may have triggered this rather extreme response from l’Hexagon. This overreaction may have also been due to Aukus deal, between the UK and Australia. This deal was supposed to bring France fifty- six billion euros in exchange for sending twelve attack submarines to Australia. But this did not go as planned. Australia cancelled their purchase, even though France had started the construction, and instead decided they’d purchase eight nuclear powered submarines… from the US and the UK. This betrayal from Australia - and seeing the UK gain so much from France’s loss – would most likely have grated on Macron, and so led to more friction in maritime affairs. Another possible reason for this dispute may be the fact that the French presidential elections are getting near and Emmanuel Macron wanted to show a strong hand in the fight for their fishing rights. It’s a tale as old as democracy, that when it’s the time for Why are things so bad?

Sabre rattling

Although these actions seem like justifiable technicalities, as a result to this, France went on to make many threats about possible repercussions if more licenses were not granted to their boats. These threats were:

•

The prohibition of UK ships releasing nets in French waters