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At Boulogne, the waves hit the seawall with intimidating ferocity. France’s busiest fishing port is a place that has long been used to the vagaries of nature, but it is political uncertainty that worries them here now.
For generations, boats have left this port to fish in the waters between France and England. Look across the water from Boulogne on a clear day and you can see Dover.
The waves hit the boulogne-sur-Mer seawall
Today, when I look beyond the battered boardwalk, I can make out the white cliffs in the distance.
Seen from here, the Canal has always seemed like a pretty generous bit of water for these fishermen. But now, as the waves get bigger, the Canal seems fiercer and unwelcoming.
There are just two and a half months to go until the end of the year and the close of Britain’s transitional period. If a Brexi No trade agreement has been reached until then, the fishermen of Boulogne may face a truly profound change in their lives.
Even if there is an agreement, access to British coastal waters may be restricted. If the UK leaves without a deal, the impact would likely feel much more serious.
Several fishermen from this town told me that they thought their businesses would no longer be viable; that the races would come to an end.
The other side of the coin, of course, is that the UK is taking back control of its coastal waters, a theme that has resonated since the beginning of the Brexit process. For some, that kind of idea is the very synthesis of the concept of sovereignty.
Boulogne-sur-Mer is the busiest fishing port in France
There is a reason why fishing has become a central element of the Brexit negotiations. The waters around Britain are teeming with shellfish.
Some of them, like cod, are loved by the British. Others, like the hearty sea snails or herring, are popular in France but hardly tested in Britain.
This leads to curious imbalances: the vast majority of Channel cod is caught by French ships, and some of it is then sold to the British. The flip side is that UK fishermen sell much of their catch to mainland consumers.
At the moment, all of this is not just legal, but normal. But it will arrive on January 1 and there will be new rules.
It’s just that, until now, we don’t know what those rules will be.
I spoke with many fishermen in this city and did not find anyone who was confident that a Brexit deal would be closed before the end of the year. There was nervousness, and among the fishermen I spoke to, a distinct lack of courage.
The last time I was in Boulogne, a few months ago, there was an air of machismo, there was talk of setting up a blockade or simply ignoring the new restrictions. Now that mood seems to be gone.
We meet Gaetan Deslart, unloading his entire load of crabs. He has spent his life in and out of British waters, but says he would not risk breaking new regulations.
He said: “The penalties will be so great and dangerous that we will not risk losing our ships entering British waters or incurring huge fines.”
“If it is not allowed, we will respect it and return to French waters. But if we have to do that, and we all share these waters, we will be dead in the year.”
The EU wants to maintain something similar to the status quo, with very irregular renegotiation episodes. The UK wants to impose much higher annual quotas and restrictions. The two sides remain very, very far apart.
From an economic perspective, fishing is pretty trivial – a financial puncture compared to financial services or car manufacturing. But for many it is a symbol of the concept of sovereignty. And when I say many, I don’t mean just the British.
Some Boulogne fishermen are concerned about Brexit
French president Emmanuel macron it is reluctant to sign an agreement that reduces the scope of its fishing fleet.
The fishing lobby is politically powerful and, still distrustful of the Gilets Jaunes protests that have marked its presidency, it wants to show its support for the French workers. What better way than to flex your muscles while fishing?
There are seven other nations in the European Union whose ships go into British waters: Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Spain.
Most would not block a Brexit deal solely on the basis of fishing rights. However, France would consider it. And today, we discover that the Spanish government will also be pressured by its workers.
José Basilio Otero, president of the Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds of Spain, told me that he was concerned about the future of Spanish fishermen, boats and fish stocks.
His hope is, like many across Europe, that things remain as they are.
José Basilio Otero, president of the Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds, Spain
“What we want is easy, that’s to continue as we have done so far,” he said.
“We need English waters and England needs to export the fish to Europe, so we should have a policy of doing no harm and continuing the status quo that we have now.”
But if he doesn’t, he and his members will appeal to the government to “put a veto” on any deal that ends their access to their traditional fishing grounds.
In France, Spain and the Netherlands, I spoke to fishermen and heard the same things: a frustration with the political process, a lack of resentment towards British fishermen and, to quote one of the biggest Brexit successes, a feeling that There’s no deal. it would be better than a bad deal.
Where does this leave Brexit? With a problem.
For a long time, conversations about fishing have been like the gull I saw flying through the howling wind of Boulogne: a lot of effort, but almost no progress.
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Now time is running out. No deal will be reached this week, and probably not even this month.
But if it’s going to be in place before the end of the year, then a compromise, acceptable for Boris johnson, Emmanuel Macron, several other leaders, the European Council and the European Parliament, will have to come. And it will have to arrive soon.
Possible? Yes. Easy? Not.
