France postpones fishing row sanctions

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he was postponing planned trade sanctions on Britain so that negotiators from both sides could work on new proposals to defuse their dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights.France had earlier said that, starting from 2300 GMT on Monday, it would restrict cross-Channel trade, threatening to turn bickering over fish into a wider trade dispute between two of Europe's biggest economies.But Macron, who earlier on Monday met British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the side-lines of the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, told reporters the French plan was on hold pending the outcome of renewed talks."Since this afternoon, discussions have resumed on the basis of a proposal I made to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The talks need to continue," Macron told reporters."My understanding is that the British were going to come back to us tomorrow with other proposals. All that will be worked on. We'll see where we are tomorrow at the end of the day, to see if things have really changed," he said. "My wish is that we can find a way out on all these issues."European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said on his Twitter feed the trade sanctions would not be applied before a meeting with British Brexit minister David Frost in Paris on Thursday."We welcome France's acknowledgement that in-depth discussions are needed to resolve the range of difficulties in the UK/EU relationship," a UK government spokesperson said in a statement.The measures threatened by France include increased border and sanitary checks on goods from Britain and banning British vessels from some French ports, steps that have the potential to snarl cross-Channel trade."The French have made completely unreasonable threats, including to the Channel Islands and to our fishing industry, and they need to withdraw those threats or else we will use the mechanisms of our trade agreement with the EU to take action," British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told Sky News. -Nampa/Reuters

France postpones fishing row sanctions

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-05

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France postpones fishing row sanctions

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-05

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