London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jul 17, 2026

Fishing rights row: France threatens retaliation over permit rebuff

Fishing rights row: France threatens retaliation over permit rebuff

France has threatened Britain with retaliation over what a minister called the unacceptable allocation of fishing licences.

French minister Annick Girardin called the rejection of licence bids from 75 French fishing vessels a kick in the teeth.

The row over post-Brexit fishing rights centres on waters around the Channel Island of Jersey, a Crown dependency.

The UK said it would consider further evidence to support remaining bids for fishing rights.

French government spokesman Gabriel Attal warned that Paris could seek "retaliatory measures" through the EU amid renewed tensions over post-Brexit fishing rights.

In the latest round of applications, the UK granted 12 licences from 47 bids for smaller vessels to fish in its territorial waters.

Meanwhile, Jersey refused licences to 75 French fishing boats.

Mr Attal said the decisions were "totally unacceptable and inadmissible because they are decisions that contravene the agreement that was signed within the Brexit framework".

He said an "enormous amount of work has been done" to send the requested information in order to obtain fishing licences, adding: "We have given all the justifications, we have taken all the measures, so that the agreement could be respected".

"We will keep on working with the [European] Commission and even amplify it to make progress on this issue, to seek a solution, and also to explore possible retaliatory measures that could be taken, should the agreement not be honoured," he added.

The UK said it would consider further evidence to support remaining bids for fishing rights.

Overall, the UK 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 one, which stretches 200 nautical miles from shore.

Earlier, French sea minister Annick Girardin, quoted in French newspaper Le Monde, said: "It is a new refusal of the British to apply the conditions of the Brexit accord despite all the work undertaken together."


Fishing was one of the most contentious issues in the post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and the EU, and it continues to be a source of tension.

Both sides have substantial bargaining chips: many European boats have traditionally relied on fishing in British waters, while many British companies rely on selling their catch in European markets.

There is a particular focus on the number of French boats that will be able to fish in British waters in the English Channel, and around the Channel Islands.

The French Prime Minister Jean Castex recently sent a letter to the president of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen warning that the problem was far from over - so a local dispute could quickly become a broader European issue.

After protests by French vessels in the waters around Jersey in May, the deadline for foreign boats to submit evidence that they have fished near Jersey in the past (which helps determine future access) was extended until the end of this month.

But it's safe to say that France won't be impressed by the rejection of 75 boats.

Sporadic squabbling about how the new UK-EU trade agreement should be implemented looks set to rumble on for years, placing a nagging strain on what should be a close relationship.

A spokesman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the UK's approach "has been reasonable and fully in line with our commitments in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)".

The spokesman said that to get a licence for fishing in the UK territorial sea, which is between six and 12 nautical miles from the coast, EU vessels must provide evidence of a track record of working there.

It comes as Jersey said it had granted 64 licences out of 170 applications from French boats.

A further 31 boats have been given temporary licences to give them more time to show they have a track record of fishing in Jersey's waters, in line with the UK's post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.

The remaining 75 boats are being given 30 days' notice, after which they will no longer be allowed access to the island's waters.

Jersey became a flashpoint for tensions over fishing rights in May, when two Royal Navy ships were sent to patrol the area after French fishermen staged a protest outside the port of St Helier.

The fishermen complained about being prevented from operating in British waters because of difficulties in obtaining licences.

Under an agreement with the EU, French boat operators must show a history of fishing in the area to receive a licence for Jersey's waters. But it has been claimed additional requirements were added without notice.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
For 36 Years, He Scammed About 300 Luxury Hotels — Until He Was Caught
Britain Nationalises British Steel to Protect Scunthorpe Production and Strategic Supply
Andy Burnham Takes Labour Leadership and Prepares to Become Britain’s Seventh Prime Minister in a Decade
Tech Companies Want to Move Computing Off Your Screen and Onto Your Body
White House Teleprompter Operator Earned More Than $100,000 From Bets Linked to the President's Speeches
French Prime Minister Survives No-Confidence Vote After Controversial Budget Cuts
European Commission Opens Excessive Deficit Procedure Against France
French Senate Blocks Key Immigration Reform Measures
French Government Pushes EU Action Against Ultra-Fast Fashion Imports
French Parliament Debates Expanded Autonomy Powers for Corsica
France Reopens Autonomy Talks With New Caledonia After Months of Unrest
Bordeaux Wine Producers Seek Three Hundred Million Euro Aid Package After Export Collapse
French Farmers Block Spain Border Crossings Over Imported Food Competition
Cannes Film Festival Bans Fully Artificial Intelligence-Generated Films From Competition
TotalEnergies Shifts More Than Three Billion Euros of Green Investment From Europe to the United States
LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault Presents Succession Plan for Luxury Empire
Kering Reports Fifteen Percent Revenue Drop as Chinese Luxury Demand Weakens
Sanofi Reports Positive Results From Messenger RNA Respiratory Vaccine Trials
France Places Energy Price Caps Under Review to Protect Households Through Winter
EDF Connects Two New Nuclear Reactors to France’s Electricity Grid
Mistral Secures European Commission Contract for Sovereign Artificial Intelligence Models
Renault Opens Next-Generation Electric Battery Plant in Northern France
Air France Signs Two Billion Euro Sustainable Aviation Fuel Deal to Cut Emissions
Marseille Launches Three Billion Euro Port Expansion to Strengthen Mediterranean Trade Role
French-Owned Ubisoft Announces Global Restructuring With Nearly One Thousand Job Cuts
National Railway Operator Suspends Artificial Intelligence Ticket Pricing System After Consumer Backlash
United Kingdom to Ban Sales of High-Caffeine Energy Drinks to Under-Sixteens
Home Office Designates Iranian and Russian Paramilitary Groups as National Security Threats
National Health Service Launches Housing Plan to Retain London Healthcare Workers
British Heatwave Fuels Wildfires and Emergency Evacuations in Scotland
United Kingdom and Estonia Sign Defence Agreement to Strengthen NATO’s Eastern Flank
United Kingdom Cuts Bilateral Aid to African Nations by More Than Eighty Percent
Bank of England Overhauls Banking Rules to Encourage More Lending to Businesses
United Kingdom and India Free Trade Agreement Enters Into Force, Reshaping Bilateral Economic Ties
Andy Burnham Confirmed as New Labour Leader and Prime Minister-Designate
UK Government Faces Pressure Over Extreme Heat Workplace Rules
Lewisham Council Blocks Cooperation With Home Office Immigration Enforcement
UK Parliament Investigates Growing Pressures on Scotch Whisky Industry
Teen Hackers Sentenced Over Thirty-Nine Million Pound Transport for London Cyber Attack
Ministry of Defence Acquires Scottish Fuel Terminal to Strengthen Royal Navy Operations
Bank of England Eases Rules as Economic Growth Remains Weak
Bank of England Governor Warns Andy Burnham on Britain’s Long Economic Stagnation
UK Defence Ministry Buys Scottish Fuel Terminal to Secure Naval Energy Supplies
UK Secures Access to European Defence Contracts Through Ukraine Support Deal
Bank of England Plans Easier Capital Rules to Encourage More Lending
Met Office Says England and Wales Have Already Broken Summer Heat Records
Counter-Terrorism Police Lead Investigation Into Murder of Former Minister Ann Widdecombe
UK Government Nationalises British Steel to Protect Domestic Steel Production
French National Assembly Overrides Senate to Pass Historic Assisted-Dying Legislation
Spanish Prime Minister's Wife Ordered to Stand Trial as Corruption Probes Encircle Governing Party
×