London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Dec 09, 2025

France pledges to 'fight every day' to uphold fishermen's rights amid Brexit row with UK

France pledges to 'fight every day' to uphold fishermen's rights amid Brexit row with UK

On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron accused the UK of "playing with our nerves".

France has pledged to "fight every day" to uphold its fishermen's rights as the country's post-Brexit dispute with the UK continues.

During a meeting with fishermen in northern France on Sunday, minister of the sea Annick Giardin promised to "not give up" in the row over fishing licenses and criticised the UK's interpretation of post-Brexit rules on the matter as "inadmissible".

Ms Giardin's comments come a day after Emmanuel Macron said Paris "will not yield" to Britain amid the ongoing dispute.

French President Emmanuel Macron's administration has said Boris Johnson's government should have issued more licenses for French boats to fish in British territorial waters


The French president accused the UK of playing with his country's nerves.

"We have not got what we wanted. They are playing with our nerves," Mr Macron said during a visit to Aulnoye-Ameries in northern France. "We will not yield."

On Sunday, Ms Giardin added: "We fight every day for these ships, for these licenses, and we will not give up."

This weekend, France said it was waiting for 150 more licences to be issued to French vessels to allow them to fish in British waters.

Relations between London and Paris have become increasingly fraught following Britain's decision to leave the EU in 2016.

Fishing has become a major point of contention because of its political significance for both sides.

Mr Macron's administration has said Boris Johnson's government should have issued more licenses for French boats to fish in British territorial waters.

But the UK has countered by saying it is respecting the arrangements that were agreed.

The licences would allow French fishermen to fish in territorial waters six to 12 nautical miles off the UK's shores, and in the seas off the Channel island of Jersey.

The ongoing row previously saw France briefly seize a British fishing boat in its waters in October and both countries sent maritime vessels to waters off Jersey earlier this year.

Mr Macron discussed the dispute with Mr Johnson briefly in Rome on 31 October, but there was little indication it would be resolved.

Both sides are under pressure to remain strong on the issue, with Mr Macron making his remarks after conservative Xavier Bertrant, a potential opponent in a presidential election next year, urged him to do more to defend the interests of French fishermen.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
×