After the UK issued 23 licences to French fishing vessels on the day of the deadline by which the longstanding dispute should have been resolved, fishermen in the Hauts-de-France region aren’t satisfied with the outcome.
Protests last month resulted in a number of ports being blockaded, interrupting ferry traffic, and the closing off of the Channel Tunnel freight terminal for a few hours caused long tailbacks of trucks heading for the UK. Now the region’s fishermen have pledged to maintain the pressure.
Olivier Lepretre, chairman of the Hauts-de-France Regional Fishermen’s Committee commented that they feel they have been shafted by the British government, as a year on from agreements being signed there are promises that have still to be kept, while the European Commission has also failed to provide promised support.
‘We are announcing that action can be expected. This will be a continuation of the demonstrations that took place at ports n Northern France on 26th November,’ he said.
‘This is action that will target British products. Fishermen in France are standing together in the face of these challenges, and we never expected to experience so much bad faith.’
