Turns out, Emmanuel Macron wasn’t just playing hardball in the post-Brexit years—he nearly pulled the plug on Britain, literally. Back in 2021, during a tense few days of UK-EU fishing negotiations, Macron’s government reportedly threatened to cut off the electricity flowing to the UK and the Channel Islands through undersea cables. All because they weren’t getting their way over fishing rights.
At the heart of it? A clash over licences for EU boats, especially French ones, to fish in British waters. Macron and his team accused the UK of dragging its feet on issuing licences, claiming it was all a deliberate stall. But the truth was a lot less dramatic. Of nearly 1,700 EU fishing licences handed out between January and September 2021, only a small number had been held up—and only because those French boats couldn’t prove they’d been fishing in UK waters before Brexit, even after being given extra time to provide evidence, reported GB News.
Despite the friction, the UK had gone above and beyond. Government stats showed that by late 2021, Britain had granted 738 licences to French vessels alone—more than any other EU country by far. That’s 44% of the total. And yet, Paris was still claiming it was being treated unfairly.
What really raised eyebrows was the presence of those so-called EU “factory ships”—huge vessels known for sweeping up everything in sight and doing serious damage to fish stocks and the marine ecosystem. Unsurprisingly, that hasn’t gone down well with UK fishermen or environmental campaigners.
Fast-forward to now, and the tensions are bubbling up again. With Sir Keir Starmer heading into his big ‘Great EU Reset’ summit on 19 May, there’s growing unease over what the UK might give away this time. The official line is that it’s all about boosting trade ties and working more closely on security. But behind the scenes, critics are worried. There’s talk that fishing waters could be back on the table—as a bargaining chip for access to Brussels’ €150 billion defence fund, designed to help EU nations ramp up military capabilities.
Given how things played out last time, there’s real concern we could see a repeat. Backroom deals, pressure from across the Channel, and British fishing once again hanging in the balance.
For all the talk of diplomacy and cooperation, it’s clear that when it comes to fish, France plays rough—and the UK might have to brace itself for round two.
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