On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron aggravated a post-Brexit feud between Paris and London by challenging Britain’s ‘credibility’ and accused it of attempting to renegotiate sections of a pact on fishing rights and other problems that were resolved barely a year ago.
Other countries were watching closely as the United Kingdom clashed with France and the European Union following its exit from the bloc, Macron said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Britain had threatened to begin trade dispute procedures against France if Paris issued sanctions on London, as it seeks to forge new trade deals after leaving the European Union. A move like this may substantially impede trade between the two countries.
Macron said that the need for the right move from Britain was not only for the European, but for all the partners of Europe. He added that it was not a great sign of Britain’s credibility when it spend years negotiating a treaty and then does the exact opposite of what was decided on the elements that benefited it the least, a few months later.
The remarks came ahead of a planned meeting between Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the G20 conference in Rome this weekend, which could help to defuse tensions.
Johnson told reporters on the trip from London that France was one of their best, oldest, closest allies, friends and partners, and that he would make that clear to Macron when they meet.
The Cornelis Gert Jan, a British scallop dredger, was brought to the northern French port of Le Havre overnight on Wednesday after French officials said its crew failed to verify it was licenced to fish in French waters, escalating tensions. Officials from the United Kingdom stated that it had all of the necessary papers.
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