He has also assured the island that contingency plans are in place to generate electricity on-island should there be any disruption in supply from the cable link with France.
“We’re taking the words seriously, but we’re not panicking,” said Deputy Le Tocq.
“They could wave their papers and shout at us, but that wouldn’t be a real threat. Equally, the French Government could decide to do it, but under international law they would probably be breaking a contract.
‘The risk would seem slim in a legal sense, but France could decide to do it as a national sovereign government.
“If it happened, we have a contingency of course. We are able to generate electricity on-island. It wouldn’t be good from the point of view of not wanting to burn fossil fuels, which we are especially mindful of when I will soon be in Glasgow to extend the Paris [climate] Agreement to Guernsey. But we could do it If necessary to maintain our supply.”
Les 4 mesures de rétorsion seront mises en place à compter du 2 novembre à l’encontre des Britanniques. Disproportionnées ? Elles ne le sont pas. Nous défendons nos droits, nos pêcheurs et notre littoral.
Quand on appose sa signature au bas d’un accord, on le respecte. #RTLMatin pic.twitter.com/r18VQ3njhP— Annick Girardin (@AnnickGirardin) October 28, 2021
Video: Mme. Girardin posted a video of a conversation with the EU Fisheries Commissioner in which she lamented the state of progress between France, the UK and Jersey.
The dispute centres on arrangements for French vessels to fish in Channel Islands’ waters. The French Government is concerned that their countrymen’s vessels could be disadvantaged by arrangements which they claim are in breach of the Brexit agreement signed by the UK Government, which assumes responsibility for the Channel Islands in international affairs.
“At the moment this is a fishing matter. We sent a list of vessels to the UK last week for them to pass to the European Union,” said Deputy Le Tocq.
“All along the French Government has said this is a matter for the UK and EU – until recently when they started sabre rattling. We have been at one with our Norman cousins, but the problem would arise if our issues were rolled into a broader dispute between the UK and the EU.”
Deputy Le Tocq said that recent events could accelerate reconsideration of the Channel Islands’ energy policies.
“We have talked about a cable link with the UK in the long term,” he added.
