FRENCH fishermen have blocked a small British-flagged cargo vessel from docking in a Brittany port in protest of London and Jersey's refusal to grant licences to fish in British waters, Reuters reports.
The fishermen held aloft red flares as they circled their boats outside Saint-Malo to block the cross-channel Normandy Trader's path - a prelude to a planned blockade later of Calais and the Channel Tunnel, both major transport hubs for trade between Britain and continental Europe.
The one-hour Saint-Malo protest and the larger action further east along France's coast risk reigniting a dispute between the two countries over a mutual licensing system for fishing vessels.
They are also embroiled in a row over cross-Channel migration. With Britain's exit from the European Union, the two sides agreed to set up a licensing system.
Paris says London and the Channel Island of Jersey, a British crown dependency, are not honouring the agreement and dozens of licences to operate inside their coastal waters that are owed to French fishermen.
In October, France briefly seized a British scallop dredger off its northern coast for allegedly operating without a legitimate permit, and both countries have this year sent patrol vessels to waters off Jersey.
French President Emmanuel Macron has accused Britain of pushing his country's patience and said the government would not yield in the dispute.
SeaNews Turkey
The fishermen held aloft red flares as they circled their boats outside Saint-Malo to block the cross-channel Normandy Trader's path - a prelude to a planned blockade later of Calais and the Channel Tunnel, both major transport hubs for trade between Britain and continental Europe.
The one-hour Saint-Malo protest and the larger action further east along France's coast risk reigniting a dispute between the two countries over a mutual licensing system for fishing vessels.
They are also embroiled in a row over cross-Channel migration. With Britain's exit from the European Union, the two sides agreed to set up a licensing system.
Paris says London and the Channel Island of Jersey, a British crown dependency, are not honouring the agreement and dozens of licences to operate inside their coastal waters that are owed to French fishermen.
In October, France briefly seized a British scallop dredger off its northern coast for allegedly operating without a legitimate permit, and both countries have this year sent patrol vessels to waters off Jersey.
French President Emmanuel Macron has accused Britain of pushing his country's patience and said the government would not yield in the dispute.
SeaNews Turkey
