This Is Guernsey

By Joel de Woolfson

Lyndon Trott.

PROTESTS by fishermen in France look set to intensify. Chief minister Lyndon Trott was yesterday in discussion with the political team of Jean-Francois Le Grand, senator of La Manche region, and was told the blockade of French ports might deteriorate.
‘From Saturday until Monday, it is likely that the situation will get worse, with the possibility of a full blockade in Cherbourg,’ Deputy Trott said.
The hardening of the stance in France and across Europe as fishermen from Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Italy joined the campaign for a fuel subsidy industry, raises the possibility of a full blockade at St Malo as well.
Neither HD Ferries nor Condor had received any assurances from port authorities that St Malo would remain open.
‘They can’t. It’s out of their control,’ Chris Howe-Davies, CEO of HD Ferries said.
Yan Milner, from Condor, added: ‘At the moment things seem to be reasonably calm. We would be concerned if it did escalate and one can only hope it doesn’t.’
Deputy Trott said fishermen in Cherbourg had voted to continue the action by a three-quarters majority.
‘Apparently the situation is similar in Granville,’ he said.
‘It is of course impossible to predict when the movement will cease and, presumably, Cherbourg could continue to be “on strike” even if other ports went back to work.’
Guernsey’s fishing industry is at a virtual standstill because fishermen cannot export.
Deputy Trott said: ‘Of course the major difficulty from our point of view is that we are trying to export fish, which is the subject of the dispute in the first place.  The likelihood of being able to so until the conflict ends is effectively zero.’
He added that there appeared to be significant public support in France for the fishermen.
‘The French minister has stated that he believes that fishermen have a special case,’ he said.
‘However, direct fuel subsidies are illegal under EU legislation and any such subsidy would therefore have to be disguised as some form of compensation package.  I understand that the matter is with Brussels at the moment.
‘The minister has also said that the difficulties faced by the profession will be reviewed with a view to drawing up a strategic plan for the future.’
But the minister’s did not appear to have calmed the situation yesterday as fishermen took their protest inland, blocking access to the nuclear reprocessing plant at Cap de la Hague, Deputy Trott said.
‘It is felt that it is unlikely that repressive “military-style” action will be taken in the near future with regard to the blockade as this would only inflame the situation further,’ he said.

Article posted on 31st May, 2008 - 12.03pm