Despite the cordial smiles at the G20 and at the COP26, the post-Brexit tug-of-war continues on the fishery between Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron, who has renounced to apply sanctions at midnight to "give a chance" to the discussions .

These will continue on Tuesday.

"It is not while we are negotiating that we will impose sanctions," the French president told the press on Monday, November 1, on the sidelines of the COP26 in Glasgow.

“Discussion will continue tomorrow” Tuesday.

"The next few hours are important hours" and "I understood that the British would come back to us tomorrow with other proposals," assured Emmanuel Macron.

The French president said he "trusted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take seriously" the French proposals and so that the discussions lead to a "result".

"For ten months, the results have been too slow. If this new method makes it possible to have a result, I would like it to be given a chance," he added.

>> To see: "Post-Brexit fishing: a standoff between Paris and London"

Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson exchanged long minutes smiling in front of the cameras when the French president arrived at the COP26 in Glasgow on Monday.

The French government again brandished the threat of the application of sanctions from midnight on Monday morning if London did not grant more licenses to French fishermen.

Paris plans to ban British fishing vessels from unloading their cargoes in French ports and to tighten customs controls on all trucks.

"Show the British that we have a nuisance capacity"

For her part, the British Minister for Foreign Affairs, Liz Truss, had called on Monday morning on Sky News for the French government to withdraw its threats "completely unreasonable, including against the Channel Islands and our fishing industry".

In the absence of a solution "within 48 hours", the head of diplomacy had specified that the British government would rely on the dispute settlement mechanism within the framework of the post-Brexit trade agreement to request "compensatory measures".

London has warned that it is also preparing to strengthen controls on European fishing boats.

A measure that worries fishermen, said Monday Olivier Leprêtre, president of the regional committee for maritime fisheries and marine farming of Hauts-de-France, denouncing "the unacceptable attitude of the English and their non-compliance with signed agreements".

"The retaliatory measures are very good, it is the only solution" but "Boris Johnson will not stop there" and "at the slightest problem, we will have hijacked boats", he regretted .

"The idea is to show the British that we have a nuisance capacity and that we can further strengthen it," Jean-Luc Hall, director general of the National Maritime Fisheries Committee, told AFP. marine farms.

At this stage, according to him, the intention to prohibit British ships from unloading their goods concerns six French ports and it would be up to the prefectures to apply the "zealous controls" envisaged.

A Paris-London relationship already undermined

Under the Brexit deal, European fishermen can continue to work in certain UK waters provided they can prove that they previously fished there.

But the French and the British argue over the nature and extent of the supporting documents to be provided.

Caught in the dispute between the two countries, Ian Gorst, Minister of External Relations for the Channel Island of Jersey, called on Sky News to "stop all this nonsense and deal with the technical problems" allowing the issuance of licenses fishing.

Even before the expiration of the ultimatum, the French authorities diverted last week to Le Havre a British trawler suspected of having fished more than two tonnes of scallops without a license.

He was still at the dock on Monday.

Contacted by AFP in the UK, Andrew Brown, spokesperson for MacDuff Shellfish based in Mintlaw, northern Scotland, said a hearing was scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday "when the terms and conditions surrounding the release of the ship will be determined, "pending the trial of the captain scheduled for August.

This file aggravates relations between Paris and London, already undermined by the torpedoing of a Franco-Australian contract for submarines in favor of the Aukus defense agreement between the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.

Another subject of post-Brexit tensions also persists between the European Union and the United Kingdom around Northern Ireland.

London demands the renegotiation of customs measures specific to the British province.

With AFP

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