President Emmanuel Macron has postponed threatened sanctions in the furious row over post-Brexit fishing rights in the English Channel – giving Britain until Thursday to reach a resolution.
The partial climbdown came three hours before Paris was expected to begin retaliatory measures, such as closing French ports to UK fishing boats and imposing tighter checks on goods coming from Britain – or even targeting electricity supplies to the Channel Islands.
Talks to end the deadlock over French access to waters around Jersey and Guernsey have resumed, Mr Macron said.
A Downing Street spokesperson welcomed the move, which postpones French sanctions until after a planned meeting on Thursday between Brexit minister Lord Frost and his Paris counterpart, Clement Beaune.
The closure of French ports to Jersey and Guernsey trawlers would shut off their main source of revenue, as most land their catch in France due to a lack of commercial processing facilities in the Channel Islands.
Recommended Christmas shoppers warned about post-Brexit charges on orders from EU Travel to Europe: the post-Brexit passport rules Government delays key Brexit border checks
Britain says it has “robust contingency plans in place” to respond to any French action — although there are no plans to call in the Royal Navy.
“We welcome France’s acknowledgement that in-depth discussions are needed to resolve the range of difficulties in the UK/EU relationship. Lord Frost has accepted Clement Beaune’s invitation and looks forward to the discussions in Paris on Thursday,” the spokesperson said.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
1/50UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures 1 November 2021 Sir David Attenborough delivers a speech during Cop26 in Glasgow
Reuters
UK news in pictures 31 October 2021 Extinction Rebellion activists protest in Edinburgh as the Cop26 conference begins in Glasgow
Getty
UK news in pictures 30 October 2021 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon with Mapuche leader and Minga Indigena Lead Coordinator Claflin Lafkenche (right) alongside indigenous delegates at a ceremonial gathering at the Tramway in Glasgow in a symbolic gesture to mark a unified demand for climate justice
PA
UK news in pictures 29 October 2021 Ocean Rebellion put on a display of puking oil heads ahead of climate change conference COP26 in Glasgow
EPA
UK news in pictures 28 October 2021 A man dressed as Santa Claus outside Selfridges in London as the department store unveils its Christmas windows on Oxford Street
PA
UK news in pictures 27 October 2021 Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak during a visit to Fourpure Brewery in Bermondsey, London, after the chancellor announced a cut to beer taxes in his budget
PA
UK news in pictures 26 October 2021 Activist Steve Bray demonstrates with a toilet outside the gates of Downing Street, after MPs voted in Parliament against the Environment Bill, allowing companies to pump raw sewage into UK rivers and seas, in London
Reuters
UK news in pictures 25 October 2021 Second World War veteran James White, 96, at the opening of the Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance, marking the start of the remembrance period
PA
UK news in pictures 24 October 2021 Richard Ratcliffe holds up a photo of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe as he protests outside the Foreign Office while on hunger strike, part of an effort to lobby the UK foreign secretary to bring his wife home from detention in Iran
Getty
UK news in pictures 23 October 2021 Partner of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Stella Morris and Editor in Chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsson attend a protest ahead of the appeal hearing over Assange's extradition, in London
Reuters
UK news in pictures 22 October 2021 Palace Gardener Justine Howlett adds the finishing touches to pumpkins bearing the face of Henry VIII and his wives, at Hampton Court Palace.
PA
UK news in pictures 21 October 2021 Flooded fields near Lingfield in Surrey, after southern England was hit overnight by heavy rain and strong winds from Storm Aurore moving in from France
PA
UK news in pictures 20 October 2021 A wing surfer enjoys the strong winds as they surf in the sea off of Hayling Island in Hampshire
PA
UK news in pictures 19 October 2021 Actor Jude Law holds hands with Little Amal, a 3.5-metre-tall puppet of a nine-year-old Syrian girl, as it arrives in Folkestone, Kent, as part of the Handspring Puppet Company's 'The Walk'
PA
UK news in pictures 18 October 2021 A view over Southend-on-Sea in Essex, which is set to become a city in tribute to Sir David Amess MP, who spent years campaigning for the change
Getty
UK news in pictures 17 October 2021 Members of the Essex Bangladeshi Welfare Association pay their respects by floral tributes laid at the scene where Sir David Amess MP was killed at Belfairs Methodist Church, in Leigh-on-Sea
Reuters
UK news in pictures 16 October 2021 Boris Johnson, Sir Keir Starmer, Priti Patel and Lindsay Hoyle pay respects to Sir David Amess at Belfairs Methodist Church, in Leigh-on-Sea, the site of his death
EPA
UK news in pictures 15 October 2021 A person lays flowers at the scene near the Belfairs Methodist Church in Eastwood Road North, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, where Conservative MP Sir David Amess has died after he was stabbed several times at a constituency surgery. A man has been arrested and officers are not looking for anyone else
PA
UK news in pictures 14 October 2021 A red deer stag during rutting season in Bushy Park, Richmond, south west London, which is home to over 300 red and fallow deer
PA
UK news in pictures 13 October 2021 Police officers detain a man as Insulate Britain activists block a roundabout at a junction on the M25 motorway during a protest in Thurrock
Reuters
UK news in pictures 12 October 2021 The aerial climate installation by Swiss artivist Dan Acher 'We Are Watching' is unveiled at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh
PA
UK news in pictures 10 October 2021 A young girl is helped by a Border Force officer as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel.
PA
UK news in pictures 9 October 2021 People walk past a life-size sculpture of British singer John Lennon entitled "Imagine", by sculptor Lawrence Holofcener, displayed to mark what would have been the 81st birthday for the former member of the Beatles in Carnaby Street
Reuters
UK news in pictures 8 October 2021 WW II veteran, 96-year-old Lorna Cockayne, who served in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), popularly and officially known as the Wrens, as a Bletchley Park codebreaker, poses for a photograph with the Legion d'honneur after receiving it during a ceremony at the Pear at Parley in Ferndown, Bournemouth
PA
UK news in pictures 7 October 2021 British comedian Jo Brand poses with cut-out silhouettes representing women outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters New Scotland Yard, to highlight violence against women by male police officers or former police officers
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading ‘Question it all’ on the final day of the Tory conference
Getty
UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of ‘Insulate Britain’ outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25
PA
UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester
EPA
UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK
Tom Wren/SWNS
UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the country’s plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London
PA
UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher
PA
UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London
AP
UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London
PA
UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton
PA
UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London
PA
UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the “ups and downs” of her mother’s case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran
AP
UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by ‘CrackTheCrises’ coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for ￡12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent
PA
UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London
PA
UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium
Action Images/Reuters
UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester,
Reuters
UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September
PA
UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson
PA
UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk
PA
UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral
PA
UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his “awesome” year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than ￡150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospital’s charity
PA
The row threatened to overshadow Boris Johnson’s efforts to secure agreement on climate change action from world leaders at Cop26, including Mr Macron.
Ireland backed France in the dispute, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin caling for any resolution to be independent of discussions over the Northern Ireland protocol.
The Jersey government’s award of 49 new licences to French boats, agreed last week, looked unlikely to satisfy Paris, as the permits allow the vessels access only until the end of January to give operators time to provide evidence that they have fished in the island’s waters historically.
Under the terms of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, vessels must prove that they operated in the area for at least one day a year in the four years before 2016. There are suspicions in the Channel Islands that ships that have never fished in the area are trying to expand operations into their lucrative scallop fields under cover of Brexit.
The Jersey Fishermens Association (JFA) has called on the island’s authorities to respond in kind to any sanctions by closing off its whelk and scallop fisheries, and banning dredging and trawling “with immediate effect for a period of six weeks”.
JFA president Don Thompson said: “We now have a situation where our local fleet are tied up, as Jersey’s fish exporters are prevented from accessing European markets and our fishermen are unable to land into France.
“At the same time, we watch as French vessels continue to fish with licences valued at ￡14m – issued free of charge by Jersey – in Jersey waters, on Jersey’s fish stocks, and land back into France without constraint.”
Jersey’s minister for external relations, Ian Gorst, called on France to “move away from all of that silliness” about sanctions and focus on the technical issue of providing the evidence so that licences can be issued.
It would be “completely unprecedented” for the French to interfere for political reasons in a private contract to supply electricity to the island, which receives almost all its power from France, he said.
“They are a large nation, we are a small island,” said Mr Gorst. “Let’s deal with what was agreed in the trade deal rather than seeking to bully and threaten.”
Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont said France would back “harder negotiations” to make Britain “understand that fishing rights are very important for us and that was part of the deal”.
“We can find retaliation on scallops. We can find retaliation on docking in France. We can find retaliation on electricity,” said the Republican MP. “That’s on the table.”
Dimitri Rogoff, who heads the regional fishing committee on the French coast near Jersey, said French crews had been providing paperwork for 10 months and don’t understand why some boats have been given permits and others have not.
He said he did not understand why Britain was making a big deal over “20 or 30 boats”, and that he hoped the French government’s threats could “incite our British friends to be a bit more conciliatory”.
The UK government says that it has given licences to 98 per cent of all EU vessels seeking access to UK waters – nearly 1,800 in total. But France said the total was closer to 90 per cent, while the rate of approvals has been far lower for the areas around the Channel Islands.