France threatens to cut power to Jersey amid fishing row

GrannyGravy13

The President of Jersey Fishing Association on LBC this morning Jersey fishermen have applied for fishing licenses for French waters, not one has been granted

Not clear cut.

I’ve been trying to find a link to this ( which I’m generally good at) with no luck. I’d like to know more - anyone on here got any more information please?

The Channel Islands are the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy. They are not part of the UK. The UK is responsible for their protection - Fact - so we the British taxpayers have had to stomp up the hundreds of thousands of pounds it has taken to send two Royal Navy ships while the CI themselves continue to operate as tax havens. The discussion about rich and poor people being everywhere is completely irrelevant - what is relevant is the anomaly of having to provide protection to islands that are not part of the UK when at the same time those islands serve to bleed the UK of tax payments that should be contributing towards the CI defence. Of course all this will blow over and in it will be forgotten the removal of international aid to people who haven't got a cat in hell's chance of ever earning enough money to worry about paying tax.

Smacks of terrorism......

The President of Jersey Fishing Association on LBC this morning Jersey fishermen have applied for fishing licenses for French waters, not one has been granted

Not clear cut.

Two most tricky Brexit problems foreseen straight after the referendum? Fishing and the Irish border. Two most tricky agreements cobbled together at the eleventh hour? Fishing and the Irish border. Fighting about both before six months are up. So that went well, didn’t it?

grandtanteJE65

Could you really expect France not to react?

Fishing rights have been agreed, but are not being adhered to.

Why should the French just put up with it?

Yes yes yes yes

icanhandthemback

Without having any prejudice to the French in general, the Channel Islands and any other nation involved in this debacle, don't you think it is rather crass to threaten cutting off Jersey's electricity? It smacks of bully boy tactics.
I never know whether to admire the French workers for their gumption in standing up for what they believe in when it comes to their industry or criticise for the unpleasantness it causes. I do wonder if our workers had made it clear there were steps too far in the loss of some of our industries whether we would have been happier in Europe. We just seemed to roll over on so many things and go even further than the EU required whilst other members just carried on regardless!

If I’d been the French, I wouldn’t have done that, but then if I’d been Jersey, I wouldn’t have done what they did and at the last minute either ( which they did). In fact there is a provision in the EU agreement that would allow for retaliation like this in certain circumstances.
However, the situation was a million miles from this. Jersey are now in talks with the French fishermen which would never have happened without threats and the blockade. Can you imagine this outcome if the French had done nothing other than say Merde ce n’est pas juste followed by a Gallic shrug of the épaules? And imo we are far too docile
What’s depressing on this thread has been a general lack of understanding and thought on the issues involved in all their complexities.

Could you really expect France not to react?

Fishing rights have been agreed, but are not being adhered to.

Why should the French just put up with it?

Is this for real? The Scots were on the side of the French at Agincourt. And Britain were on the same side as the French in both 20th century wars you mention.

If this is the standard of debate over international relations in the general populace, no wonder the Tories are doing so well.

Agincourt, Waterloo, WW1, WW2, Fish!

Without having any prejudice to the French in general, the Channel Islands and any other nation involved in this debacle, don't you think it is rather crass to threaten cutting off Jersey's electricity? It smacks of bully boy tactics.
I never know whether to admire the French workers for their gumption in standing up for what they believe in when it comes to their industry or criticise for the unpleasantness it causes. I do wonder if our workers had made it clear there were steps too far in the loss of some of our industries whether we would have been happier in Europe. We just seemed to roll over on so many things and go even further than the EU required whilst other members just carried on regardless!

Copes283

Gosh this thread has surprised me somewhat! My gut reaction was that les Francais are sabre rattling because they have "got the hump" with us over Brexit. But if, as has been stated here, the CI are not part of the UK, why did we send the Royal Navy over? Sorry, please 'scuse my ignorance!

This was how it was spun and many people don’t understand the ludicrously privileged position of the CI. The other aspect ignored is that this dispute is only with Jersey and not Guernsey.
The U.K. Government is ultimately responsible for the CI international relationships which is why access to their fishing waters were therefore dealt with specifically in the new U.K. - EU trade agreement

Thanks * Maizie* - historical context is essential if one wants to understand current issues and not just knee jerk into the France= bad Jersey = good, superficial reaction.. I’m not sure however that I agree with his comment about the extent of the impact of Brexit. Would these changes have happened otherwise? Almost certainly not. Jersey behaved badly by issuing the new licences at the last minute with no discussion . Imo they were aided and abetted by Johnson with his eye on a cheap photo opportunity. The only thing that surprised me was that he didn’t appear at the helm of one of the gun ships dressed up as an Admiral.?

Yes they can they have and they will do it again.

Gosh this thread has surprised me somewhat! My gut reaction was that les Francais are sabre rattling because they have "got the hump" with us over Brexit. But if, as has been stated here, the CI are not part of the UK, why did we send the Royal Navy over? Sorry, please 'scuse my ignorance!

A really interesting article here on negotiating agreement between the French and CI fiishermen 30 years ago. By the guy who negotiated it.

An extract about the background

Firstly, the Channel Islands were never in the EU and their waters were never part of the Common Fisheries Policy – the more so as both the French and the Channel Islands waters involved are all twelve mile territorial sea and not 200 mile exclusive economic zone. The extent to which this relates to Brexit is therefore much exaggerated.

Secondly, the issue dates back hundreds of years and is concerned with the maintenance of traditional fishing rights within each other’s waters by the French and Channel Islands fishermen. Both sides have always acknowledged these time hallowed rights of access.

Thirdly, the French and Channel Islands fishing communities concerned are inextricably interlinked and indeed intermarried. Certainly thirty years ago French was the first language among the fishermen on both sides (though I am told this is less true now).

To try to explain further, fishermen are taking specific types of catch in specific areas, and their boats are equipped for this. They cannot simply be told to go and catch something different in their state’s “own” area without changing equipment and indeed sometimes boat. To state the obvious, if you are putting down your lobster pots it is not easy to be told to go fish for mackerel somewhere else instead. That is the principle, though I don’t pretend to remember the catches now.

It is not just a technical and financial matter. It is a question of personal identity and survival of communities. Fishing families have been taking the same catch in the same areas for many generations. The boats are inherited, the community set up for the appropriate processing and sales.

www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2021/05/channel-islands-fisheries-and-abuse-by-tory-jingoism/

Absolutely.

Aveline

Sparkling ?

Are you applauding another personal attack on me ?

Sparkling ?

Suzie, you obviously have issues to make such bitter responses, it could well stop anyone from posting, I do hope it doesn’t because it’s good to hear people’s different views on things it’s called discussion. I can see the problems in both sides with this fishing dispute, both sides trying to protect jobs and livelihood let’s hope that a mutually agreeable outcome can be reached with compromise.

Enjoyed visiting Jersey, when my son worked there, tax haven or not France has no right to declare what is almost a threat similar to what North Korea would do , shame on them. They have never been friends of the UK, and little Napoleon is alive and well.

Are the Dutch border force still confiscating sandwiches?

Isn't this a case of Jersey applying the rules as agreed, but the EU (inevitably France!) not liking it?
?

Probably not. Our governments (all of them) are too short-termism. Probably something to do with elections every 5 years.

Don’t worry. Post brexit Britain is going to be self sufficient in everything isn’t it?

Why we are relying on other countries for our energy is lunacy, especially when the main country is France.

France will use everything we're dependent on as leverage. They are less reliable than even Russia. It's long overdue that the UK learns this lesson before it gets people killed. Vaccine supply, electricity, it'll be something else next.