French accuse UK of igniting a new fishing war

A fresh Brexit fishing war threatened to break out on Tuesday night after the Government rejected three quarters of applications from small French boats to fish waters around Britain.

Ministers announced that just 12 licences out of a total of 47 will be granted to French vessels under 12 metres applying to fish the UK's inshore waters.

Jersey will also confirm on Wednesday that it is granting fewer licences than the 169 requested by France only months after a French flotilla surrounded St Helier, its main port, amid a row over access to its waters.

On Tuesday night France's Europe minister threatened "retaliatory action", while fishing leaders called the move "a declaration of war on the water and on the land".

It threatens to plunge personal relations between Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, to new depths following tensions over the new Australia-UK-US (Aukus) defence pact.

It also follows a summer that has seen London and Paris at odds over the record-breaking numbers of migrants crossing the Channel, with powers for Border Force to turn back boats to Calais expected to be used this week after the measure was signed off by Mr Johnson.

The move comes ahead of the Conservative Party conference and amid the ongoing fuel crisis, and ministers may hope it shifts attention back onto Brexit.  

'Retaliatory action' 

On Tuesday night the news was met with a furious response from Clement Beaune, the French Europe minister, who told the RTL radio station: "We will not hesitate to take retaliatory action, collectively. We understand and share the exasperation of our fishermen. We cannot co-operate in confidence with the UK while the deal is not respected."

UK government officials said the licences had been granted based on the French vessels' historic links to the fishing grounds, with one adding that the UK had "bent over backwards to be as generous as we could be".

But fishermen in north-west France have threatened to respond by preventing British goods destined for Europe from leaving ports.

Olivier Le Nezet, the president of the Brittany fishermen's committee, called the figure of 12 out of 47 "a declaration of war on the water and on the land", adding that French fishermen would see to it that "not a single British product lands on French soil".

Bertrand Sorre, the MP for the Manche département or county of France opposite the Channel Islands, said: "It's an extreme provocation on the part of British officials, and very clearly France won't accept it and I want the EU to enter into a much firmer negotiation and use all the levers at its disposal."

Michel Barnier, the former EU Brexit negotiator who is now running against Mr Macron for the French presidency, suggested the decision could have significant repercussions for UK-French relations. "There are too many points of disappointment from our side and I think it could be difficult," he told an audience in London.

'French fishing must not be held hostage' 

Annick Girardin, the French maritime minister, called it "a new British refusal to apply the conditions of the Brexit accord", adding: "French fishing must not be held hostage by the British for political ends."

France's fisheries ministry has previously warned that its reaction would be "proportionate to the British offer", with officials said to be discussing a coordinated response with Brussels on Tuesday night. The French government previously threatened to cut off electricity supplies to Jersey over the so-called fish wars.

"There will be actions that will go beyond what you can imagine, and I'm not just talking about cutting off electricity to Jersey," Mr Le Nezet told The Telegraph. "We will lead this battle against the UK."

It comes just days after Mr Johnson sought to rebuild bridges with Mr Macron after Paris reacted furiously to the news that it had been excluded from the Aukus pact. It is also likely to have implications for efforts by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, to get France to step up efforts to combat the record-breaking number of migrants crossing the Channel.

The UK is braced for French retaliation, with Mr Macron's response expected to be particularly severe due to the potential implications on his electoral prospects ahead of the presidential election next April.

However, Labour has accused the Government of planning to use Brexit during the Tory conference to distract from the fuel crisis.

On Tuesday, Baroness Chapman, Labour's EU spokesman, suggested Mr Johnson was planning to override Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which would see the UK unilaterally suspend parts of the agreement with the EU.  

During previous clashes over fish, French fishermen stoppeed lorries carrying British-caught fish from disembarking at major French ports such as Bulougne-sur-mer – key gateways to markets across Europe.

After Jersey sought to impose new restrictions in May, French fishermen surrounded St Helier and threatened to blockade Calais, prompting the crown dependency to back down and issue temporary licences.

Under the Trade and Co-operation Agreement signed in December, the UK is required to allocate licences to EU vessels which have historically fished in its waters.

Earlier this year, it issued licences to over 1,600 boats seeking access to its wider 12 to 200 nautical mile zone, while a further 105 licences were issued to larger vessels in the six to 12 nautical mile zone, which is closer to shore. Almost 90 of these were to French boats.

Justifying the decision to accept only 12 of 47 applications from smaller vessels which had applied to fish in the zone closer to UK shores, officials said many had failed to meet the requirements necessary to secure post-Brexit access.

The assessment is based on positional data, with the French vessels needing to prove that they had spent a certain amount of time fishing in the six to 12-mile zone between 2012 and 2016. A further 35 are still believed to be awaiting a decision, with the UK asking for more data before making a final decision.

On Tuesday night, a government spokesman said: "Our approach has been reasonable and fully in line with our commitments in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement.

"As regards the six to 12-mile zone, as set out in the TCA EU vessels must provide evidence of a track record of fishing activity in those waters. We continue to work with the Commission and the French authorities and will consider any further evidence provided to support the remaining licence applications."