Original title: Threatening “power failure”, France has no tolerance for “British calculations” | Beijing Brewing Museum
The US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation grabbed a large order from France and completely angered France. For this reason, France even immediately withdrew its ambassador to the United States and Australia and threatened to take more countermeasures, but at that time it did not target Britain.
Today, the relationship between the United States and France has eased due to the telephone communication between Biden and Macron, but the Elysee Palace’s retaliation against No. 10 Downing Street seems to have just begun. Recently, the French Minister of European Affairs, using the fishery dispute as an excuse, Born warned Britain that it would cut off the electricity supply to British Jersey.
The threat of “power failure” is still the “cause” of Brexit
Although Britain and France, which face each other across the sea, have always “no calls,” and conflicts are definitely not two of them, the background of the threat of “power outage” is relatively simple-the sequelae of Brexit.
In June 2020, the United Kingdom and the European Union finally reached a Brexit agreement after a long-term wrangling. Their trade agreement stipulates that French fishing vessels must obtain a newly issued fishing license before they can continue to fish in the waters of the British Channel Islands. The premise is GPS. The track is sufficient to prove that these fishing boats originally fished in this area.
The British Channel Islands are located at the western end of the English Channel, only about 10 kilometers from the coastline of Manche in Normandy, France, and the distance from the mainland coastline of the United Kingdom is several times as far away.
In 1066 AD, the French Duke of Normandy made an expedition to England and became the King of England. Since then, the French territories that the former British royal family continued to occupy as the Duke of France were almost all taken back by France. However, the Channel Islands, dominated by Jersey and Guernsey, have become “black under the lights” and have always remained in the territory of the United Kingdom.
During World War II, this was the only British territory occupied by the Nazis and returned to Britain after the end of World War II.
Although the Channel Islands have an area of only 198 square kilometers and a population of less than 130,000, they have enviable fishery resources and produce a variety of fishery products. Regarding the problem of fishing in the waters of the Channel Islands, there have been conflicts and even conflicts between Britain and France many times in the history of the two countries.
In 2000, Britain and France signed the “Granville Bay Agreement”, granting permanent fishing rights to French fishing vessels in Normandy, but such permanent fishing rights must be “registered” and “inherited in order.” This agreement once stopped the old problem of fishing rights in the Channel Islands.
But the good times did not last long. Brexit made the “Granville Bay Agreement” automatically invalidated and replaced it with the license terms of the UK-Europe trade agreement. The clause stipulates that the deadline for issuing a new fishing license is September 30, 2021, and fishing is not allowed to continue after the expiry date.
French fishermen in Normandy and other places were originally dissatisfied with the Anglo-European Agreement, believing that the new permit added harsh clauses such as “no longer stay at the port on the island” and “time limit for operations in the waters of the Channel Islands”. From April to May 2021, French fishermen even initiated fierce actions such as besieging the ports of the Channel Islands, which once led to a confrontation between British and French warships.
At that time, French fishermen threatened to cut off power, while the British government and Jersey authorities accused France of dealing with “unacceptable” and “asymmetry.” Subsequently, Britain and France agreed to negotiate a settlement, and the incident only temporarily subsided.
On September 27, the Jersey authorities issued only 111 out of a total of 217 permit applications submitted by French fishermen; on the 29th, the Channel Islands issued an official announcement and only 64 out of 169 permanent permit applications were issued. 75 copies were refused.
France quickly reacted strongly: On September 29, French Maritime Minister Giladin issued a “power failure” ultimatum, threatening that if a “satisfactory answer” was not received within 15 days, the “power failure” would take effect immediately and demanded the EU to adopt a unified policy. action. Giladan stated that “the UK is delaying on all matters (related to the Brexit agreement)”, accusing him of “narrow populism”.
However, it was not until October 7 that Gust, the head of foreign affairs of Jersey, belatedly spoke to British and French reporters, repeating May’s “unacceptable” and “asymmetrical” caliber.
“British calculation” has made France and the EU intolerable
In the face of threats, the British seemed tough.
The Anglo-Norman Power Company, which is responsible for the island’s electricity services, claimed that “we have a solution”: There are two thermal power stations on the Channel Islands, La Colette Island and Queen’s Road. “If sufficient power generation can meet the needs of the island”, use French electricity.” It’s totally a friendly choice”, “Love or not, don’t let it down”.
The Jersey side also showed a lot of confidence. Earlier, officials on the island in charge of fisheries and the environment said that “the French would not do this” and “what good would it do for them”.
But this confidence suddenly disappeared with the statements of Giladan and Bohn. Because it is no longer the French fishermen in Normandy and Brittany and the fisheries organizations behind them that threaten the “cut off”, but the French and even the European Union governments.
In 2020, France provided 95% of the island’s electricity. If it is suddenly changed to “self-reliance”, and not to mention the soaring cost, the island does not produce the fuel needed for power generation. Once France adds sanctions such as maritime blockade, it will stop. Electricity is also a matter of minutes.
The British and Channel Islands masturbated that the French company RTE, which is responsible for supplying electricity to the island, still issued a “commercial statement” at such a sinister moment, emphasizing that it had signed long-term power supply contracts with Jersey and other Channel Islands power users. Fulfill the obligations of the power supply contract”.
However, the problem is that RTE is just a subsidiary of EDF, which is actually a French state-owned company, and the French government owns as much as 80% of the shares.
Simply put, if the threat of “power cut” is limited to the rants of local coastal fishermen, fisheries organizations, and some parliamentarians as before, there is no need to worry about it; but if “upgraded” to the French government’s warning, then the “switches” in the Channel Islands should be It really means pulling and pulling.
Behind these problems, it is not the emotions of the Jersey Islanders and Normandy fishermen, but the growing dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction between the United Kingdom and France, and between the United Kingdom and the European Union since the signing of the awkward Brexit agreement. trust.
Observers in Paris and Brussels generally pointed out that the Jersey authorities used so-called “technical reasons” to delay the issuance of permanent fishing permits and “discount” them all the way, which is obviously a “small calculation” of the British government.
However, Paris and Brussels have long been intolerant of such “British calculations”, and France will have a general election next year. Macron, with its subtle election sentiment, will never offend these fierce and combative northwest coastal fishermen.
If the threat is invalid, the EU may coordinate retaliation against Britain
Technical officials in France and the European Union assessed that the Anglo-Europe Agreement will cause France to lose 25% of its original fishing profits in British waters from 2026. Statistics in 2020 show that the proportion of French fishermen’s fishery catches from British waters is as high as 30%. Therefore, the dispute over the Channel Islands is actually just an outpost in the context of the British-French fisheries dispute.
Not only that, France is not the only one involved in fisheries disputes in British waters. The Netherlands, Iceland, Belgium and even Denmark are all involved, and all parties concerned are also watching the direction of this outpost.
To reassure the people, Macron announced on September 14 an additional allocation of 50 million euros to compensate fishermen for the so-called “recovery plan” for the losses caused by “Brexit”. According to the agreement, the European Union will pay France 735 million euros in “Brexit loss compensation”, most of which will also be subsidized to the fisheries sector.
However, local politicians, fisheries association representatives and fishermen in Normandy and Brittany did not buy it. They pointed out that “Once the entire industry and livelihood is lost, no amount of compensation will help.”
Because Jersey is not connected by railway, many imported goods have to rely on the French state-run railway network to be transported to French coastal ports and then transferred. For this reason, in the past few days, the “countermeasures” discussed by French politics, public opinion and the private sector have spread from “power cuts” to “trade embargoes” and “cessation of rail services”, and even “no French students are allowed to go to the island.” Study” and other broader fields.
The Jersey authorities announced a compromise plan for “issuing temporary licenses” on September 24, but so far only 31 have been issued, and it is unclear when they will be “temporarily”.
January 31, 2022 is the deadline for the issuance of a permanent license “replacement”. If the crisis cannot be alleviated by then, the consequences will be disastrous.
On October 7th, Gust, the head of Jersey’s foreign affairs who bit his head on the front line, said, “I don’t know what link has delayed the issuance of the permit. It is London, Paris or Brussels that has the problem.”
However, Gorst did not have much time to “know” this: On October 11, French Maritime Minister Giladin will go to Luxembourg to meet with the European Fisheries Minister, urging the latter to come up with a unified EU-wide retaliatory measure. List. At that time, if the threat of “power failure” is invalid, “you will see further responses from Europe and France in late October.”
Beijing News Special Writer | Tao Duanfang (Columnist)
.