France to file legal action against UK in January for fishing licenses
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The UK and France have had tensions over post-Brexit fishing licenses for months.
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France has previously threatened to take legal action against the UK.
Clément Beaune, Secretary of State for European Affairs, said on France 2 on Thursday that France intends to sue the United Kingdom to collect the remaining post-Brexit fishing permits to which it claims it is entitled.
"If the British don't respect the agreement, they won't be able to access freely to our market in the future."
He added that "[Starting on] January 4, we will meet with European commissioners to define the procedure and the measures we need to take."
This comes as France continues to request roughly 60 fishing licenses to allow French vessels to fish in UK seas after Brexit — around 7% of the remaining fishing licenses France claims it is entitled to according to the trade pact.
Resolution of disagreement
The primary point of disagreement is the number of fishing licenses available in British coastal waters for smaller French vessels that can prove they fished there before Brexit.
According to France, 104 of its boats are still missing licenses to operate in British and Channel Island seas, which should have been granted under the Brexit deal reached by the UK and the European Union in December last year.
The UK previously denied discriminating against French boats, claiming that many of them lack the paperwork needed to obtain a license.
UK-France fishing crisis
This year, France and the United Kingdom have battled several times over fisheries, as well as migrants crossing the Channel, post-Brexit trade agreements, and submarine sales to Australia.
“The problem with the British government is that it does not do what it says,” French president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Thursday, accusing London of failing to keep its word on Brexit and the fishing licenses.
