Oliver Harvey, Chief Feature Writer
St Helier, Jersey
Updated: May 7 2021, 0:26 ET
Oliver Harvey, Chief Feature Writer
St Helier, Jersey
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APPEARING out of the gloom soon after 4.30am, the armada of French fishing boats was ready “to restage Trafalgar”.
Shadowing them was the might of Britain’s Royal Navy HMS Tamar and HMS Severn primed with cannon and machine guns.
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A member of the Jersey Militia re-enactment group appeared on the ramparts of St Helier’s 16th Century Elizabeth Castle
Then, at around 6am, the French made their move.
Amid swirling smoke from red flares and proudly flying the French tricolour, the ragtag 60-strong flotilla made for Jersey’s St Helier harbour and pluckily blockaded the port.
JERSEY BLITZ
French fishermen demand Macron CUT THE POWER to Jersey and make good on threats after Royal Navy drive off blockade
Peter Allen
Updated: May 6 2021, 15:06 ET
Peter Allen
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FRENCH fishermen have demanded Emmanuel Macron make good on threats to cut the power to Jersey after the 100 ship blockade broke up after the arrival of the Royal Navy.
Furious trawlermen raged as the row over fishing rights goes on - and blamed the British for failed talks over access to the waters around the Channel Island.
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Emmanuel Macron has been urged to strike back against JerseyCredit: AP
Cyril Piraud, skipper of a Normandy boat called The Pearl, was among those who set sail for Saint Helier, Jersey s capital, and staged a protest at post-Brexit rules diminishing their right to work in local waters.
Last modified on Fri 7 May 2021 00.26 EDT
Dawn was still four hours away and the small Normandy port of Carteret was alive, some boats hurriedly unloading their catch for a rapid turnaround, others turning on their lights and firing up their engines for the first time that night.
Minutes after 3am on Thursday they had left the quayside and, in pitch darkness and a gentle swell, were pushing smartly out to sea to join a growing armada of 60-odd boats from Cherbourg right the way round to St-Malo.
Ringing in their ears were the words of David Sellam, from the Caen office of Franceâs inter-regional maritime directorate, who had told them at a fiery impromptu meeting in Granville market on Monday that they were up against âpeople of ill-willâ.
The flotilla arrived just as the sun rose across Saint Aubin’s bay. Around 70 fishing vessels, flying the French tricolour and the lions passant of Normandy, descended upon Jersey intent on blockading its port.
Locals described the sight as ‘like the arrival of the Spanish Armada’ as fishermen set off flares and displayed banners proclaiming ‘Jersey Government steals our historical wrights (sic)’.
They had travelled from the French ports of Granville, Carteret and St Malo to protest over French post-Brexit access to Jersey’s waters.
The demonstration was marred by ugly scenes when a 35ft French trawler rammed a British boat.