Saint Malo to be blocked as fishing row fires up again

Friday 26 November 2021

French fishers have confirmed they'll be blocking ports in Saint Malo and Ouistreham today, as well the Eurotunnel in Calais, in protest over the licence dispute and to encourage the EU to “show its strength to the UK”.

The protests were announced by Gérard Romiti, the President of the Comité National des Pêches Maritimes et des Élevages Marins, the national fisheries committee, along with Dimitri Rogoff, Olivier Leprêtre and Olivier Le Nézet, the presidents of the regional committees in Normandie, Hauts de France and Bretagne.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday afternoon, Mr Romiti said the movement was a demonstration of the quality and ability of professional fishermen to mobilise themselves against the “provocative, contemptuous and humiliating” behaviour of the UK against them. 

Pictured: Representatives from the national and regional fisheries committees announced the protests today.

He described the demonstration as legitimate and said it aimed to prevent “British bad faith” from prevailing in the fishing dispute and in other matters.

“We want the agreement signed on 24 December 2020 to be respected,” he said.

“If the question of the licences may seem minor at the European level to some, it’s part of a much bigger picture. The long-term relationship with the UK depend on the resolution of this issue.”

Today, Saint Malo will be blocked between 08:00 and 09:00. Then, in Calais, the port will be “paralysed” between 12:00 and 13:30 whilst the highway access to the Eurotunnel will be blocked between 14:00 and 16:00. There will also be similar actions in Ouistreham in the afternoon. 

A representative from Saint Malo said all of those the Manche area were united in the action and warned that more could come in the future. He however assured that tomorrow’s demonstration would be peaceful.  

“We are not going there as if we were going into a war.”

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