Conflict over post-Brexit fishing: “France will not give up anything”, assures Emmanuel Macron – LCI

In the aftermath of statements interpreted as a capitulation by some fishermen, Emmanuel Macron wants to reassure. “We will continue to fight, we will not let go of our fishermen”, he assured this Friday during a trip to the North. “We play with our nerves”, estimated the head of state. “It is a matter of respecting the given word. The British have signed withdrawal agreements and on future relations and they must respect them.”

“The (European) Commission must protect us. It’s going too slowly, it’s going too softly”, regretted the French president, warning that if “the Commission is not playing its role, France will”.

In Brussels, “we talk more about the Irish protocol (another point of friction between the EU and the United Kingdom, editor’s note) than about the issue of fishing”, revealed Thursday to AFP Eric Maurice, head of the Brussels office of the Robert Schuman Foundation which considers that France is not isolated.

“Everyone is well aware in Brussels and in the Member States that it is a more general question of the respect by the British of the Brexit agreements”, he believes, “and everyone knows very well that we are dealing with a partner who does not necessarily respect his word“.

While waiting for possible cooperation from the British, Emmanuel Macron assures this Friday that the government will continue to support and protect fishermen in difficulty. “Determination, firmness, support: this is the policy we have been pursuing from the start. France will not give up anything”, he added.

Earlier today, Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune told AFP that there was no “no renunciation, no retreat” from the government. “We are continuing both negotiations and pressure. We are asking for the same number of licenses”. France still claims “between 150 and 200 licenses” and “keeps all options open if the dialog” did not succeed, he said, referring to the various sanctions that could be decided by Paris and the European Union.

Under the Brexit agreement signed at the end of 2020 between London and Brussels, European fishermen can continue to work in British waters provided they can prove that they were fishing there before. But the French and the British argue over the nature and extent of the supporting documents to be provided.

In areas still disputed, the governments of London and the Channel Islands have so far granted nearly 220 permanent licenses. France is still asking for some 150 licenses (against 170 a month ago), according to an AFP count. If the Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, has reported progress, especially with Guernsey, she vigorously denounces the attitude of the neighboring island, judging “obvious that Jersey does not respect the Brexit agreement”.

France had announced sanctions from November 1 against London and Jersey before suspending them pending the outcome of a series of discussions. Clément Beaune is due to talk again with the British Secretary of State for Brexit, David Frost, “by the end of the weekend”.

These sanctions, which included the non-access of British fishermen to French ports and reinforced controls on the flow of goods between the United Kingdom and France, are therefore still on the table, noted Clément Beaune.

Pending the obtaining of fishing rights, Annick Girardin spoke on Thursday of a compensation plan for fishermen who would lose their licenses for British waters. These remarks provoked the anger of professionals, seeing in them an implicit admission by France of its “defeat”.

About a quarter of French catches (excluding the Mediterranean) in volume (about 20% in value) come from British waters, which are rich in fish.