France threatened earlier that the transmission of electricity from France via a submarine cable to the island could be cut off as a “retaliation.”
“Precautions”
French fishermen plan to take action today in Jersey’s main port of St Helier. But according to local authorities, fishermen do not intend to stop it. Johnson said yesterday that he would send the two naval vessels to Jersey “as a precaution”. The prime minister said the blockade would be “totally unjustified”.
According to French Minister Annick Girardin (Sea), the British introduced new conditions of access for French fishermen, allowing them to be active in the area for a shorter period of time and removing fewer species from the waters. Girardin said he found out last Friday.
“totally unacceptable”
The United Kingdom has published a list of 41 French fishing boats subject to new conditions that Paris says have not been “agreed, discussed or notified” as part of the United Kingdom’s Brexit deal with the European Union. “Totally unacceptable,” Girardin said in Parliament this week on the issue. She fears that if France does not take action, fishermen will also be banned from fish-rich British waters.
The island of Jersey is located more than 20 kilometers from the coast of Normandy. It is not part of the United Kingdom but is a property of the British Crown.
