By the way, that’s Jersey as in the Channel Islands, not New Jersey.
The 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s death was May 5, 2021.
A solemn commemoration was held at Les Invalides in Paris:
A number of Metro and railway stations in Paris are named after Napoleon’s victories:
French president Emmanuel Macron was always a keen student of history, particularly Napoleon.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also a keen student of history, especially of battles that took place in antiquity.
Now we have a post-Brexit situation. France is upset that their fishing boats cannot go in Jersey’s waters.
Sky News explains the new post-Brexit rules (emphases mine):
French fishing crews are demonstrating as part of a row over post-Brexit fishing rights.
Under the Brexit trade deal, which came into force on 1 January, EU fishermen continue to have some rights to fish in UK waters as part of a transition period until 2026.
However, under the new rules, EU boats wanting to fish within 12 miles of the UK coast need to be licensed and prove they have a history of fishing in those waters in order to carry on operating.
This includes submitting evidence of their past fishing activities.
Jersey has not granted licences to some of the boats that have applied to fish in its waters.
Ian Gorst, the island’s external relations minister, said of the 41 boats which sought licences under the new rules last Friday, all but 17 had provided the evidence required.
“The trade deal is clear but I think there has been some confusion about how it needs to be implemented, because we absolutely respect the historic rights of French fishermen to fish in Jersey waters as they have been doing for centuries,” he said.
“I do think a solution can be found. I am optimistic that we can provide extra time to allow this evidence to be provided.”
The French government has also expressed its anger at what it said were unilaterally-imposed conditions on the fishing licences, including the time French fishing vessels could spend in Jersey’s waters.
Jersey said it had issued permits in line with the terms of the post-Brexit trade deal.
The Jersey Evening Post reported:
Don Thompson, president of the Jersey Fisherman’s Association, said Jersey had been ‘quite generous’ in its licensing scheme and described France’s response as an ‘over-reaction’.
He said: ‘The EU have signed up to the [post-Brexit] Trade and Co-operation Agreement which states that Jersey must recognise the extent of previous fishing in our waters. The restrictions on the new licences cover what the French were already doing in our waters and are only preventing them from expanding their fishing efforts, which is needed if we are going to have sustainability in our waters.
‘A point that is being missed is that Jersey boats do not have licences to fish in French waters – we are restricted to our own territorial waters while they can use ours, if any restrictions are placed on their own.’
Mr Thompson also highlighted how the approved 41 French vessels had been given a licence for free and urged Jersey’s government not to give in to the French.
‘Our boats would be charged £250,000 if they were to have something similar. Our advice to ministers is that they should not capitulate to these intimidation and bullying tactics that are being used,’ he said.
‘If we do capitulate now then they are just going to do the same thing every time we try to apply some form of management to make our waters sustainable.’
An oyster farmer from Jersey, mentioned in the headline, disagreed.
France threatened to cut off the electricity supply to Jersey. They have since backed down. Jersey Electricity said that customers did not have to worry:
On the evening of May 5, Guido Fawkes posted:
A reader responded:
These were the headlines on May 6:
They are armed fisheries protection vessels, or river class ships:
I wonder if the Royal Marines will use their new jetpack technology (videos here and here). It enables a Royal Marine to fly up to 12,000 feet in the air and up to 80mph:
As I write, these were the developments on Thursday, May 6. HMS Tamar, recently repainted with ‘dazzle’ camouflage, set sail for Jersey that morning:
We’re in 2021 and not 1588 (sinking of the Spanish Armada), but, even so, there is a frisson of excitement about this:
France responded by sending two of their ships:
Guido Fawkes has more on France’s reaction:
Guido’s post says (emphases in the original here):
The head of the joint Normandy-Brittany sea authority has declared they are “ready for war” and “can bring Jersey to its knees” as tensions continue to ramp up between the UK and France over Jersey at a dizzying pace. War with France can only help Boris’s 10 point poll lead…
Responding to two navy vessels being sent by Britain to patrol the situation last night, Macron has retaliated by sending one of his own military boats, to join 100 French fishing vessels blockading the harbour. A French minister has said the country “won’t be intimidated” by British manoeuvres …
A military historian posted a thread about French fishermen protesting in Jersey:
This morning, a Jersey resident re-enacted an ancient battle with the French. He did this in safety, far from the port. Talk show host Jeremy Vine demonstrated how the blockade of the port was unfolding:
It’s hard to disagree with this:
Negotiations are now taking place on Jersey between their government and the French fishermen:
The Jersey Evening Post reported:
External Relations Minister Ian Gorst, said: ‘We are meeting with French fishing leaders this morning to listen to their concerns regarding fishing rights. There are continuing extensive political and operational efforts with both our local fishing community and French fishing associations, their regional representatives in France, and both the UK and French governments, in order to resolve the current dispute and resume previous good relations.’
A number of Islanders have turned up to watch and police are at the scene.
Although the crews have been setting off flares, the protest has so far remained peaceful.
One French fisherman complained that France has to go through the EU first for any resolution:
That could explain why Charles-Henri Gallois, president of Génération Frexit, is using this disagreement as an argument for France to leave the EU. He says:
Here’s his tweet, which met with an equally Frexit response:
Gallois also posted a link to an article in Les Echos, France’s leading business newspaper, which says that the UK was able to handle their coronavirus vaccine rollout with ‘great efficacy’. Gallois says that a free country which is independent is always more effective than one which is bureaucratic, slow and with divergent interests. He adds that, if one adds the totally antidemocratic aspect of the EU, one should not hesitate a single second to leave:
I wish Charles-Henri Gallois and Génération Frexit all the best in their pursuit of a France free from the EU.
Meanwhile, one wonders if the French are aware that today, Thursday, is England’s local election day. As Guido says, this can only help Boris and the Conservatives.
UPDATE: IT ENDED BEFORE IT EVEN STARTED.
By dinnertime, the French fishermen had left Jersey:
Boris declared victory:
This is Guido Fawkes’s version:
Guido reported:
The PM has hailed the end of the third battle of Jersey, understatedly calling the matter “resolved” after the 100 French fishing boats ran away earlier this afternoon.
The announcement comes as No. 10 says the two Royal Navy vessels will depart the island’s waters in the coming hours, though will remain on standby in case Jersey once again finds itself in an hour of need. In the words of Maggie, just rejoice at that news, and congratulate our forces and the marines…
Many thanks to all involved in resolving this situation quickly. Even a small nuisance can be a lingering irritant if left to fester.
This post first appeared on Churchmouse Campanologist | Ringing The Bells For, please read the originial post: here
