'Cannot be Tolerated': France Slams UK For Failing to Respect Fishing Commitments Under Brexit Deal

Tensions are brewing between France and the UK over post-Brexit fishing rights. The situation has been exacerbated by the new technicalities of granting licences to French vessels operating in Jersey coastal waters.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex has accused the British of failing to respect their commitments on fishing under the Brexit deal, saying that London's "behaviour cannot be tolerated".

Castex has urged stronger action from the European Union, warning that France could eventually seek an arbitration panel on the Brexit deal if necessary.

"If that does not work we will go the (Brexit deal) arbitration panel to get the British to keep their word and, more broadly, we will question all the conditions of the implementation of accords with the EU and also, if necessary, the bilateral cooperation we have with the UK," Castex warned.

The prime minister's statements come just days after the UK granted 12 licences from 47 bids for smaller vessels to fish in its territorial waters. The UK said it would consider further evidence to support remaining bids for fishing rights.

The move was slammed by French Sea Minister Annick Girardin, who said: "French fishing must not be taken hostage by the British for political ends".

"It is a new refusal of the British to apply the conditions of the Brexit accord despite all the work undertaken together. I have only one watchword; to obtain definitive licences for our fishermen as the accord foresees", Girardin was cited by Le Monde as saying.

Last week, France announced that it would quickly come up with retaliatory measures over fishing rights "towards the British and also our neighbours in Jersey".

In total, Britain has granted 117 EU licences for its inshore territorial waters, and almost 1,700 EU vessels have been licensed to fish in the larger UK exclusive economic zone.

The ongoing escalation in tensions was triggered by the new technicalities of granting licences to French vessels operating in Jersey's coastal waters. The paperwork is a necessary part of the section of the Brexit deal between the UK and the EU governing fishing, effective since 1 May after a four-month grace period.

French fishermen have been struggling to obtain licences, allowing them to keep working in UK waters, including in Jersey, as they must now prove they have been fishing in these waters from 2012 to 2016 using GPS data, which some simply don’t have.