FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
LONDON – Dramatic military escalation in English Channel.
Boris Johnson he sent two warships in front ofisland of Jersey, the British territory in front of the coasts of France, to defend it from a maritime blockade threatened by Breton and Norman fishermen.
The two gunboats started in these hours a patrol the waters around the Channel Islands, ready to face the French fishing boats: to give them support President Macron sent two patrol boats from the Paris fleet. It is a confrontation that risks escalating.
The dispute on the island of Jersey
The fight originates from the Brexit Fisheries Agreement: European fishermen have gained access to British waters until 2026, but boats must prove they have operated in those areas in the past.
The Jersey authorities on this basis denied access to dozens of French fishing boats, sparking a furious reaction: a flotilla of at least 60 boats was ready to set sail for Jersey and block its port, at the cry of “We’ll bring Jersey to its knees”.
Indeed, the day before yesterday the same French government had threatened to cut electricity to the island, which depends on the continent for its supplies. “Even the Nazis had left the light on”, they commented in London, referring to the German occupation during the war.
Tensions between Great Britain and Europe
At this point Johnson did not miss the opportunity to collect a political dividend, also in view of the important round of administrative elections which takes place today in Great Britain.
It’s a mini-crisis of the Falklands, if we want: even on that occasion Margaret Thatcher he used a war expedition to revive the fortunes of his government. It is obviously hoped that there will not be an armed confrontation. But the drama of the tension is a further sign of how in the months following Brexit, relations between Great Britain and Europe have rapidly deterioratedFrom the vaccine dispute to the customs clash over Northern Ireland, from the regulation of financial services to the spite of ambassadors, the relationship between London and the Continent has spiraled into a spiral of growing hostility. Now the warships are entering the scene as well: and it is not a good omen.
May 6, 2021 (change May 6, 2021 | 12:55)
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