LONDON — What started as a relatively obscure dispute over fishing rights rapidly escalated into converging British and French naval ships, as French authorities threatened to cut off electricity this week to Jersey, an island of about 108,000 people.
To be clear: Britain and France are unlikely to go to war. But the flare-up is a bizarre chapter in relations between the countries, and a sign of the ongoing difficulties in a post-Brexit world.
For those confused by it all, let’s get you caught up.
I’m not great at geography, please start with the basics.
Jersey is an English-speaking island, about twice the land size of Manhattan, in the English Channel, about 14 miles off the northwestern coast of France.
according to The Independent.
Then why is this a big deal?
Because scrambling naval ships, raising even the slightest specter of military confrontation, is a big reaction to a fishing license dispute.
What led up to this?
It began, as many spats have, with Brexit.
For decades, French crews have fished in the waters near Jersey under longstanding agreements. But last week, under a new trade agreement created after Britain formally left the European Union in January, Jersey introduced new requirements for the French fishing crews, restricting how much they can fish there.
New licenses were issued last week. French officials, accusing Britain of breaking its Brexit agreements, were dismayed; one official warned this week that France could cut off Jersey’s power supply, which comes via underwater cables from France.
he wrote, referring to the naval ships.