In the fisheries dispute with Great Britain, France is initially waiving sanctions. President Macron said he would postpone planned punitive measures against the British for one day. Both parties now want advice.

In the dispute over fishing licenses, French President Emmanuel Macron halted the entry into force of sanctions against Great Britain at midnight. On the sidelines of the world climate conference in Glasgow, Macron referred to ongoing negotiations with the government in London. “We will not impose sanctions while we are negotiating.”

A few hours earlier, Macron’s office had confirmed that the announced punitive measures should take effect at midnight if no progress had been made by then. “The next few hours are important hours,” the President said now. “I suppose the British will come to us with more proposals tomorrow.”

Paris announced strict controls

A spokeswoman for the EU Commission had previously confirmed that representatives of France, Great Britain and the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey and the EU Commission should meet in Brussels for talks. According to Macron, these talks should now continue on Tuesday. “We will see where we are at the end of the day tomorrow to see if things change in nature,” he added.

A French ultimatum expires on Tuesday to reach an agreement on the dispute over fishing licenses. Paris had threatened to close some ports to British fishermen and to tighten controls on British ships and trucks. France also imposed a restriction on the supply of power to the British-owned Channel Islands in the area. The islands are located off the French coast and depend on electricity from France.

UK government ultimatum

“The French have to withdraw these threats, otherwise we will activate the dispute resolution mechanism agreed in the Brexit treaty to demand compensation,” said Foreign Minister Liz Truss of the BBC. London will not turn around in the face of “inappropriate” threats from Paris. The problem must be resolved within the next 48 hours.

The dispute between the two states is over fishing rights after Brexit. Paris accuses London of penalizing French fishermen by allowing fishing in British waters. French fishermen have not received the guaranteed licenses to cast their nets in British waters. According to British information, there are dozens of French boats that have not received a fishing license because they could not prove the required documents.