“It’s not war, it’s a fight,” said French Seas Minister, days before France lost that fight
How Brexit Britain stood up.... and ‘fighting France’ stood down
Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2021
Facts4EU.Org's slightly irreverent Saturday edition tells the story of how staunch British defence defeated French threats - plus an update on EU and French reactions yesterday
“Ce n'est pas la guerre, c'est un combat,” declared President Macron’s Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, on the popular French radio station RTL on 28 Oct 2021.
Four days later France had lost that fight. On the evening of Monday 01 November, with just a few hours to go, President Macron said that France would not implement its threats against the UK after all - and withdrew its midnight ultimatum.
Monsieur Macron withdrew the ultimatum threatening strong measures against the UK the day after stating:-
“The ball is now in their court. If the British don’t make any significant move, the measures starting from 02 November will need to be implemented.”
“I would deplore it. But what we cannot do is not respond and not defend our fishermen.”
- President Macron, Rome, 31 Oct 2021
The British made no such "significant move", nor gave any concessions, as we reported on Wednesday.
Macron isolated, as EU fails to support him again yesterday
As Facts4EU.Org reported last week, EU support for France’s over-reach in threatening unilateral action against the United Kingdom over fishing rights has failed to receive support in Brussels.
Neither the usually vindictive EU Commission nor the EU Council of the 27 leaders of the EU member countries would agree to back the French action.
Anodyne statement yesterday from EU Commission
Yesterday Lord Frost met EU Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič in Brussels, where the French dispute with the UK was discussed. President Macron and his two ministers leading the French charge can only have been disappointed in the result.
In its statement yesterday there was no mention whatsoever by the EU Commission of the French attack which had been planned to start after midnight on Monday 01 November.
“The Trade and Cooperation Agreement is clear: vessels that were fishing in the territorial waters of the UK and the Crown Dependencies should be allowed to continue. All French vessels entitled to a licence should receive one. I support Commissioner Sinkevičius in his ongoing efforts to find a solution.”
EU Commission statement by Maroš Šefčovič, Fri 05 Nov 2021
Once again the EU conspicuously failed to support the French ultimatum, nor indeed any action by the French.
Readers might be surprised that Lord Frost’s EU counterpart should mention Virginijus Sinkevičius, EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries. Since the French dispute escalated around six weeks ago, Facts4EU.Org has not seen one word from this ‘EU Commissioner for Fisheries’ about the UK, France, or the French complaints and threats.
Macron’s normally vituperative ‘attack puppy’ has gone quiet on French action
Credit: Clement Beaune Twitter / © LCI 2021
Yesterday on the French radio station LCI, President Macron’s Minister for European Affairs, Clement Beaune, was unable to threaten any future French action against the United Kingdom.
Instead he offered the usual general insults about the British government, but failed yet again to back up his claims with any facts.
Conversely, last week David Frost and the UK government published the facts on French fishing licence applications.
Facts4EU.Org analysed and summarised these in our report on Thursday.
Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2021
All Clement Beaune could do yesterday was to sound disappointed and to insult the United Kingdom:-
“A great democracy that does not respect the signed agreements is a problem for us, but first of all a problem for them. Respect the agreements: it is in everyone's interest.”
- Clement Beaune, French Minister for European Affairs, 05 Nov 2021
Macron’s “automne horribilis”
For President Macron the early autumn has not been good so far. This fisheries debâcle represents a defeat for France in having had to withdraw its ultimatum against Brexit Britain, with nothing to show for it.
In addition on Friday (29 Oct 2021) he had to face the embarrassment of his appointed Prime Minister telling the EU in a private letter - and therefore telling the world because it was bound to leak - that “It is essential to make clear to European public opinion that… leaving the Union is more damaging than remaining in it.” Proof, if any were needed, of the EU’s ‘punishment agenda’ against the British people for daring to vote to leave its empire.
Only six weeks earlier France lost its “contract of the century” with Australia, when the Canberra government cancelled the deal and partnered with the United Kingdom and the United States instead, under the new ‘AUKUS’ agreement.
This led to France recalling its ambassador to Washington and a difficult conversation with President Joe Biden. France’s anger with Australia seems now to be increasing, with inflammatory words now being exchanged. This seems to set to rumble on.
All in all, it might be fair to say the early autumn has not been a good time for the French President.
Observations
Faced with Frost, French threats fade... for now
It remains to be seen whether France will slowly and quietly forget about its very ill-advised and ultimately doomed threats against the United Kingdom.
Our guess is that President Macron is hoping that in the next three weeks the UK might invoke Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. This is one cause which the EU will rally behind. If the UK takes this action then it is certain that President Macron will be pronouncing widely and loudly on the subject.
He will not do so because of any particular interest in Northern Ireland or its people, but because he will be playing to his domestic audience as the weeks count down to the moment he must face the French electorate. It will also conveniently deflect attention away from ‘le combat de pêche’ – the fight over fishing.
‘Virgin Sink Vicious’ fails to defend the French
The EU Commission contains many Commissioners whom almost no-one has heard of. Some of these individuals are so forgettable and have such complicated names that the Facts4EU.Org team has adopted nicknames for them, to help us to identify them when they surface.
Thus ‘Virgin Sink Vicious’ was born, or as his friends know him: Virginijus Sinkevičius, the Lithuanian EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries. We hope he will forgive our epithet and we should mention that he seems to be a pleasant chap.
Photo right: Sid Vicious of 'The Sex Pistols', c. 1978
As shown above, Mr Sinkevičius got a mention in the EU Vice-President’s statement yesterday in relation to France’s fishing conflict with the UK. Lord Frost's EU counterpart seems supportive of “his ongoing efforts to find a solution.” We found this interesting in that we can’t recall a single instance of Mr Sinkevičius saying a word about France’s dispute with the UK, certainly not since it hit the headlines many weeks ago.
If you want Mr Sinkevičius to pronounce on eco-systems, or the EU’s new criteria for cosmetics and pet-care products, then Virginijus is your man. French fishing ultimatums and threats…? Um, not so much. Or not at all in fact.
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[ Sources: RTL | LCI | EU Commission ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Sat 06 Nov 2021
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