France Threatens to Cut Electricity to Jersey - over fish!

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Doc67
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France Threatens to Cut Electricity to Jersey - over fish!

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France threatens to cut off power to Jersey in post-Brexit fishing row

This is shaping up to turn into something nasty. It is by any chance related to yesterday being the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte?

French minister raises electricity supply as point of leverage in dispute over access to UK waters


The French government could cut off the electricity supply to Jersey in an escalating row over post-Brexit fishing rights, a French minister has suggested.

Responding to questions in the national assembly, Annick Girardin, the minister for maritime affairs, said she was “revolted” by the UK government’s behaviour over its waters and France was ready to retaliate.

The British crown dependency of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, relies on “the transmission of electricity by underwater cable”, Girardin said as she was questioned by assembly members, raising the supply as a point of leverage.


“I would regret it if we were to get there,” the minister said, but “we will do so if we have to.”

The comments mark a major escalation in a row over claims by French fishers that they are being denied access to UK waters.

David Frost, the former chief Brexit negotiator who is now the minister responsible for relations with the EU, held scheduled talks with the French minister of European affairs, Clément Beaune, on Tuesday afternoon.

It is claimed that the UK government is using red tape to limit the operations of French fishing vessels, in contravention of the trade and cooperation agreement struck with the EU on Christmas Eve. The UK government denies the claim, saying Jersey alone is responsible for the management of its waters.


https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ishing-row
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Gunboats and blockade threats as U.K., France clash over fishing

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Gunboats and blockade threats as U.K., France clash over fishing

https://www.yahoo.com/news/gunboats-blo ... 00664.html
LONDON — The U.K. and France were engaged in a naval standoff on Thursday as a long-simmering dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights escalated in the English Channel.

France deployed two maritime patrol boats to the waters off the British Channel island of Jersey, its navy said, after the British Navy dispatched two of its own vessels to the area late Wednesday.

The dueling moves came as a flotilla of French fishing trawlers sailed to the Jersey port of St. Helier to protest over fishing rights.

The French government has suggested it could cut power supplies to the island if its fishermen are not granted full access to U.K. fishing waters under post-Brexit trading terms.

Clément Beaune, the French secretary of state for European affairs, told AFP on Thursday that Paris will “not be intimidated” by the British.

On the other side of the Channel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged his "unwavering support" for the island after he spoke with Jersey officials about the prospect of a French blockade.

Johnson "stressed the urgent need for a de-escalation in tensions," a government spokesperson said. "As a precautionary measure the U.K. will be sending two Offshore Patrol Vessels to monitor the situation."

Dimitri Rogoff, who heads a group of Normandy fishermen, told the Associated Press that about 50 boats joined Thursday morning's protest from French ports along the western Normandy coast.

He said the action was not an attempt to blockade the port but rather a peaceful method of voicing French anger.

“This isn’t an act of war,” Rogoff said. “It’s an act of protest.”

Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands with a population of 108,000, is geographically closer to France than Britain. It sits just 14 miles off the French coast and receives most of its electricity from France via undersea cables.

Jersey's government said the island had issued new fishing permits in accordance with the post-Brexit trade terms, which included new conditions for license-holders. According to an agreement with the E.U., French boat operators must now show a history of fishing in the area to receive a license to fish in Jersey's waters.

That angered French trawler crews and the French government, who said the new terms had been imposed unilaterally and without discussion, and that they placed unfair restrictions on French fishing vessels.

Jersey officials said they would meet representatives of the protesters to listen to their concerns.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Re: France Threatens to Cut Electricity to Jersey - over fish!

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Those French can be a pesky lot,

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Re: France Threatens to Cut Electricity to Jersey - over fish!

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