Brexiters stand firm, Dover residents worried
Audio 01:14
A traffic flow modification system is being tested for the UK's exit from the European Union, on the M20 motorway near Ashford in Kent County on December 12, 2020. AP - Matt Dunham
Text by: RFI Follow
6 min
The Kent region, at the gates of Europe, voted 59% in favor of Brexit.
Four and a half years later, the departure of the European Union is on the verge of being carried out in conditions still unknown And if the chaos announced within Dover, the last piece of England before France, worries many inhabitants of the city, the Brexiters, they still do not regret having chosen to leave the Union.
Reports.
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With our special
correspondent in Dover,
Chloé Goudenhooft
For the inhabitants of the city of Dover, traffic jams are common and some opponents of the European Union refuse to see it as a problem specific to Brexit, as this snow-white-haired Englishwoman explains: “
The traffic in Dover, every once the French strike and block the port, there are queues, nothing new.
"
While she recognizes that the first few months will be difficult, she is sure these problems will only last for a while: “
There will be a few years of upheaval, when things change, you know, you have to adapt.
But all will be well.
Long or medium term, everything will be absolutely fine.
"
This downtown shopkeeper, meanwhile, does not understand that the exit from the European Union has not yet been effective: “
I love France and I love the French, I love them, but I think we we need to be independent.
I am one of those who thinks that we have to be independent and I think that we have to get out.
I don't think we should sit at the table being dictated to things.
We should just go.
"
These Brexiters are even worried that negotiations will extend into 2021 and hope that Boris Johnson's promise will be fulfilled by the end of the month.
♦
The people of Dover are worried
The city of Dover is the UK's gateway to Europe.
The city has always experienced traffic problems.
Traffic jams vary depending on the strikes on one side or the other of the Channel and because of the wind.
But in recent weeks, drivers have been faced with the surge of delivery caused by companies that stock up before the end of the transition period.
"
The main highway from London, Ashford and to Dover is congested,"
laments a woman.
You can't go in and out of town.
"
Whether or not an agreement is reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom, the inhabitants of the city are already worried about how they will have to manage their daily lives from January 1, 2021: "
What I know is that it will be a problem to go to school and to go to Canterbury,
says the father.
The bus to Canterbury will be late.
We will probably have to leave earlier and get up earlier to get to school on time.
"
Authorities in the city of Dover have set up an operation called Brock to organize traffic around the port in the event of Brexit-related congestion.
The objective would be to allow the inhabitants of the city to circulate no matter what.
A four-day test has been set up, but townspeople do not appear to have been convinced.
♦ "
No more queues, no more waiting, more hours for the drivers
"
With the expectation of an announcement on an exit from Europe with or without an agreement, many questions remain.
David Hurst is a customs officer who works at the city's port.
He explains that he has not received any particular indication.
“
I import and export customs entries, administering goods behind the trucks.
Only stay two or three weeks and we still have no instructions on how to proceed.
It will be funny.
Yes, we are all concerned because we don't know.
And with the government still not making a deal, we don't know how it's going to work.
Traffic on the roads will be the problem because of the extra paperwork for trucks entering and exiting.
Last week we had heavyweight tails on the U20, most of the week.
And that was before Brexit even happened.
So before we had any problems, we already had queues and I think there will be even more after Brexit.
No more queues, no more waiting, no more hours for the drivers.
"
CG
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