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FRANCE HAS BLOCKED all freight trucks from the UK as concerns mount about a new strain of the pandemic coronavirus.
French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari announced tonight that the country would suspend all traffic – air, rail and sea – from the UK starting at midnight for at least 48 hours.
The Port of Dover in Kent said it is “closed to all escorted traffic leaving the UK until further notice due to border restrictions in France.”
It comes as the nations of Europe, including Ireland, mobilized to stop incoming flights from the United Kingdom in an attempt to prevent the spread of a coronavirus mutation that is spreading across London and south-east England.
Rod McKenzie of the Road Transport Association told Sky News that 10,000 trucks a day crossed between Dover and Calais in France.
He added: “The Brexit stockpile is one thing, the Christmas fever is something else, but the absolute blow now is to close the borders for 48 hours.
“That is a serious disruption to the entire important supply chain.”
Logistics UK, formerly the Freight Transport Association, tweeted: “Logistics UK is aware of the news that no freight will be allowed to France for 48 hours; We are concerned about the welfare of drivers and are urgently seeking more information for our members. “
In a statement, Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Executive Director Ian Wright said: “Tonight’s suspension of accompanied freight traffic from the UK to France has the potential to cause serious disruption to supplies of UK Christmas fresh food and UK food and drink exports.
Continental truckers won’t want to travel here if they have a real fear of being stranded. The government must urgently persuade the French government to exempt the freight accompanied by its ban. “
Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium echoed some of the comments, saying: “France’s closure to UK traffic, including accompanied freight, poses difficulties for the UK’s ability to import and export. key products during the busy Christmas season.
While goods can enter from France, few transport companies will be willing to send trucks and drivers to the UK without a guarantee that they can return to the EU in a timely manner. This is a key supply route for fresh produce at this time of year: Canal crossings see 10,000 trucks passing daily during peak periods, such as the run-up to Christmas.
“We urge the UK government and the EU to find a pragmatic solution to this as soon as possible, to avoid disruption for consumers. Retailers have stocked up before Christmas, which should prevent immediate problems.
“However, any prolonged closure of the French border would be a problem as the UK enters the final weeks before the end of the transition on December 31.”
British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said that people should avoid traveling to the ports of Kent.
“Following the announcement by the French government that it will not accept passengers arriving from the UK for the next 48 hours, we ask the public and in particular carriers not to travel to Kent ports or other routes to France,” he tweeted.
“We expect a significant disruption in the area.
“My department is working urgently with Highways England and Kent Council on contingency measures to minimize traffic disruption in the area.
“We will share more details on this shortly.”
Railway services
The Belgian government also announced that its borders with the United Kingdom will be closed at midnight on Sunday.
The Eurostar rail service said on its website that due to France and Belgium border closures with the UK, it could not operate any trains from London to Paris, Brussels, Lille or Amsterdam on Monday or Tuesday.
He added: “We are also unable to operate trains from Amsterdam, Brussels and Lille to London on these dates. We can confirm that our trains will continue to operate from Paris to London.
“The plan is to resume all of our train services to and from the UK on Wednesday 23rd December.”
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He said he was waiting for more details from the relevant governments on how the travel restrictions will be enforced.
Meanwhile, Eurotunnel tweeted that its last shuttle service to France departed at 9.34pm, with access to its UK site banned from 10pm.
Boris Johnson will chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra civil contingencies committee tomorrow, Downing Street said. It is understood that the inclusion of freight traffic was a surprise tonight.
A 10th spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister will chair a COBR meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation regarding international travel, in particular the constant flow of cargo to and from the UK. More meetings will be held tonight and tomorrow morning to ensure strong plans are in place. “
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