London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Aug 19, 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
A Sleepless Night on Wall Street: Nasdaq to Begin Nearly Round-the-Clock Trading
"The First in the World": 69-Year-Old Protested Artificial Intelligence—and Went to Jail
Ukraine's Ousted Defence Minister Calls for Wartime Presidential Election
UK Marks Ten Years of Night Tube as London Weekend Usage Exceeds Eighty-One Thousand Journeys a Night
Met Office Issues Thunderstorm Warnings Across Northern Ireland Over Flash-Flood Risk
Frasers Group Raises Stake in Hugo Boss to Nearly Forty-Eight Percent
Scottish Clyde Marine Pilots Prepare for Strike That Could Disrupt Glasgow and Greenock Shipping
Twenty Passengers Injured After Southern Train Derails Near Lewes in East Sussex
Government Rules Out High-Speed Rail Revival Between West Midlands and Northern England
West Midlands Bus Network Returns to Public Ownership in Twenty-Four Million Pound Deal
UK Competition Watchdog Targets Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Drip Pricing
Northern Ireland Health Minister Mike Nesbitt Resigns After Dispute Over Causeway Hospital Surgery Closure
UK Long-Term Government Bond Yields Rise to Five Point Eight Five Percent as Borrowing Costs Surge
UK Government Overhauls Planning Rules to Push Housing Development Near Major Transport Hubs
UK Health and Economic Pressures Highlight Wider Strain on Households and Public Finances
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Reaffirms Full Support for Ukraine Amid Russian Warnings
Sainsbury’s Suspends Live Facial Recognition at London Store After Customer Misidentified
Artists Urge UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Reject New North Sea Oil and Gas Licensing
UK Government Awards Four Hundred and Fifty-Six Million Pound Civil Service Training Contract to EY and KPMG
Global Government Bond Yields Rise as Middle East Conflict Fuels Inflation Concerns
British Housing Market Records Weakest August Since Two Thousand and Eighteen as Asking Prices Fall
UK Announces New Sanctions on Russian Shadow Fleet and Financial Institutions
UK Approves Virgin Rail Group Services Through Channel Tunnel, Challenging Eurostar
UK Government Backs Three Hundred Million Pound AI Investment Zone in North Lanarkshire
UK Declares National Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Imported Eggs
China’s Lifelike AI Humans Move From Livestreams Into Real-World Service Roles
UK Government Rolls Out £5.8 Billion Regional Investment Programme to Revive High Streets
AstraZeneca Ends Late-Stage Lung Cancer Trial After Data Shows No Survival Benefit
London Stocks Fall for Sixth Day as Bond Yields and Middle East Tensions Weigh on Markets
UK Government Rewrites Planning Rules to Accelerate Housing Near Transport Hubs
UK Wildfires Spread Across Southern England as Met Office Issues Severe Heat Warnings
British Doctors Warn Cancer Care Is at Risk as Hospitals Reject More Than a Quarter of Urgent Referrals
UK Hospitals Suspend Critical Care as Extreme Heat Exposes Infrastructure Failures
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Campaigners Press Government to Strengthen Rights for Four Million Gig Workers
Government Considers Higher Private Rents to Spread Asylum Accommodation Across UK
UK Moves to Protect Historic Pubs From Conversion Into Housing and Offices
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to House of Commons
British Manufacturers Report Rising Cybersecurity Threats Across Industrial Supply Chains
Royal Navy Increases Monitoring of Russian Ships in UK Waters by 25 Percent
England Adds More Than 350 Medical Training Posts to Strengthen NHS Capacity
NHS Waiting Lists Over 52 Weeks Rise by More Than 11,000 Patients
Brent Crude Near $88 Raises Fresh UK Energy Cost Concerns
UK Treasury Warns Prolonged Strait of Hormuz Disruption Could Cut 2027 Growth to 0.3 Percent
×