# French blockading ports again.



## gromett (May 9, 2005)

In case you hadn't seen it?
BBC - French blockading ports again

Karl


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Fishermen*

Hi

They blocked me last April as below.

The ferries should be fitted with water cannons and flame throwing equipment.

Russell


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## motorhomer2 (May 9, 2005)

*French Fishermen at it again with Blockade*

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7998795.

Motorhomer


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Mod Note. Two topics merged - identical content.

Zebedee


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## duxdeluxe (Sep 2, 2007)

It's one of the sure signs of spring.....

Rabbits doing what rabbits do best
It's raining again
England losing an overseas test series
and the French are on strike and blockading the ports.........

Happens every year


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## teensvan (May 9, 2005)

Hi.

All us savers in the uk should take a leaf out of the french way of life and start to blockade some of the major cities and towns to get the bank of England to up our interest rates. After all we did not cause the credit crunch.

steve & ann. ------------- teensvan.


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## julie798 (Jun 13, 2007)

*france*

*All us savers in the uk should take a leaf out of the french way of life and start to blockade some of the major cities and towns to get the bank of England to up our interest rates. After all we did not cause the credit crunch.

steve & ann. ------------- teensvan. *

I couldn't agree more


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Blockage*

Not sure about interest rates! Certainly worth a mass influx of customers into one of the smaller societies and a mass withdrawal of funds...

Russell


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## Invicta (Feb 9, 2006)

*Blockade of French Ports*

Here we go again, No movement to and from the French ports due to the blockade by French fishermen. Operation Stack cluttering up the roads in Kent!

Expect those with Motorhomes stuck at the French ports are so pleased to be in their 'homes on wheels'. At least they have a bed to sleep in and a toilet to use (well many of them). Can't you just smell the stench by now from the public loos at the ports?!

One good thing to come out of this debacle-no illegal immigrants getting into the UK via Dover! !


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## motorhomer2 (May 9, 2005)

Fishermen plan to blockade Eurotunnel & Eurostar tomorrow if they dont get what they want.


Motorhomer


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Mod Note. Another identical thread merged to avoid confusion and duplication.


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## 97734 (Feb 16, 2006)

Good on them - protest is the only way to change some things and its their country so why shouldnt they do as they wish. 

If we dont like it, we can stop travelling to France cant we? I am bit tired of the French bashing on here (not to mention all the other bashing and negativity)

The French - at least they have good roads, good facilities for Camping Cars and a pleasant and helpful attitude to Camping Cars - unlike this "perferfctly fault free" country

Can we have some more positive and constructive entries instead of all this Xenophobic Johnny Foreigner Bashing please
Ta


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

The French governments have a history of "caving in" to such protests, therefore they keep happening; if Teakozy said no, you get nothing, and stood up to them once in a while, it might not happen so frequently :roll: 
Anyway, they'll finish by the weekend, when all the Brits have returned from their continental holidays. And the recent French reputation as a country of strike happy anarchists is added to some more. :x 
When it inconveniences the French holidaymakers - for example blockading the bridge across to the Ile de Re on Bastille day, you might get some action, but the Brits? Sod em


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## mgb (Dec 4, 2008)

But take heart, the Euro is on the slide!
MGB


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

gevans55 said:


> Good on them - protest is the only way to change some things and its their country so why shouldnt they do as they wish.
> 
> If we dont like it, we can stop travelling to France cant we? I am bit tired of the French bashing on here (not to mention all the other bashing and negativity)
> 
> ...


Sorry, Gevan55, I'm as pro France as anybody here about the facilities & the people generally, but this is a dispute that is affecting Briitsh tourists and more importantly cross border trade. The French government have a duty under EU law to keep trade moving - if the ferries can't move, trucks loaded with goods
can't get through.


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## Chrisv (Jun 10, 2007)

Hi Everyone,
We're in Delft at the moment and due to come back via the tunnel on Friday morning so fingers crossed here. I'm afraid I can't agree with Gevan55's remote anarchy. It's very easy to think that something is OK when it doesn't affect you.

Chris


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## SpeedyDux (Jul 13, 2007)

I'm not a scientist, but the impression I get is that some commercial fishermen could not care less if they bring many species of fish or crustaceans to the brink of extinction. The quotas that they won't accept are a political compromise already as a result of EU negotiations. Probably less than the experts would wish to see imposed, so the quotas may still not be rigorous enough to allow stocks to stabilise, let alone recover. 

Increasing the quotas to enable over-fishing makes no sense to me. The North Sea should still be full of Herring, but the fishermen have seen to that. Parts of the oceans now have only 10% of the biomass they contained 100 years ago. It all makes a few days' annoying disruption to Channel Ferry crossings seem trivial by comparison. 


SD


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Interesting point Dux, which takes us a bit off topic . . . but not too far! 

The most appalling aspect of the quota system occurs when fishermen inadvertently catch more than the quota they are allowed to land, so have to throw (_sometimes tons of_) perfectly good, but by now dead fish overboard.

The alternative is the imposition of a heavy fine for catching too many of that species.

Mad 8O . Stark staring bloody bonkers. 8O 8O

But that's politics for you!! :roll: :roll:

Dave


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## 97734 (Feb 16, 2006)

Hey there Chrisv - get your facts straight before you take a swipe - It does affect me (directly and indirectly) and where on earth do you get the notion that remote anarchy is any less valuable than in situ anarchy.

This issue also affects a lot more people than me and any fellow travellers. Do you eat fish by chance? I have some sympathy for the plight of *small scale* fishermen being done over by large factory fishing boats that indiscriminately pillage the waters. The poor small scale fisherman whose entire life is built around the process of catching small numbers of fish on a regular basis to supply a local port / market is pretty much screwed by the nonsense EU regs.

I dont wish anyone a disrupted trip across the channel but you have to admit that a small scale protest like this done in the right place certainly raises the profile of the issue to a point where it cant be ignored. Good luck to them, I hope these guys get a result that enables them to keep their "small scale" operations working.


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## randonneur (Jan 25, 2007)

You are a bit late posting the strike as it is now over.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Don't spoil the fun!


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## 97734 (Feb 16, 2006)

:twisted:  8O


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## Chrisv (Jun 10, 2007)

Hi gevans55, There didn't seem to be any facts to get straight other than you are somewhere else and thousands of people are here having to deal with this first hand. 
As it happens I can't stand fish, but of course I wouldn't let that influence my opinion on the matter  . 
bbc/itv/sky news websites are not carrying the story that the strike is over (at present) so I hope that it is true. In fact if it is it would be better than a slap in the belly with a wet fish. 
I'll think of this thread when I'm driving past the burning tyres tomorrow. 

Chris


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

*Re: Blockade of French Ports*



Invicta said:


> . . . "One good thing to come out of this debacle-no illegal immigrants getting into the UK via Dover! "!


'Ain't that contravening their 'uman rights' ? :roll: 
Have pity on all the workers in the benefit offices in Dover just sitting there twiddling their thumbs waiting for the strike to finish & the 'customers' to pile in . . .


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

As we are heading for Dieppe on Monday I hope it will all be over and not spread further down the channel.

Although having a motorhome does lessen the inconvenience. I used to enjoy sitting out the odd blockade or strike in our last American RV. Tele on, feet up, G&T in hand and bacon on the grill.

Eat yer hearts out cold and wet strikers.

Ray.


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

raynipper said:


> I used to enjoy sitting out the odd blockade or strike in our last American RV. Tele on, feet up, G&T in hand and bacon on the grill.
> Eat yer hearts out cold and wet strikers.
> Ray.


Having parked upwind of them I hope Ray, so the wondrous whiff of sizzling bacon tormented their anarchic nostrils!! 8) 8) 8) :lol: :lol: :lol:

Dave


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Yep Dave, Thats the idea.

This scenario was a deciding factor in us buying our first motorhome in 1982.
We had just missed the Dunkirk to Ramsgate ferry and had to endure a night in the car as the next one was 12 hours later.

As we were bent double around the steering wheel and handbrake, an American 'C' clas pulled up behind us in the queue and poured the drinks.
Next morning we were already awake trying to straighten out limbs and bladders when this inconsiderate swine behind us lit the gas under the bacon. 

We bought our first RV within weeks and have delighted in the 'Schardenfroiden' (spelling) feeling ever since.

Ray.


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

randonneur said:


> You are a bit late posting the strike as it is now over.


Not according to the 6 oclock news ----- 
They did lift it in the early hours to let 3000 people sail and might do it again to night but Operation Stack is still on the M20 and the lorry drivers are sunbathing by the side of the road.
Mavis


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

According to the lady at the C&CC I can't get through to the CC today despite ringing all the numbers as all the people with ferry tickets are ringing up to find out about alternative crossings. They even put a message on the "answerphone" to tell people to ring the ferry company not them :roll: 

And I only want a CCI card  

Blooming French when they mess up my schedule. 

Taking on the world in great French style when I just watch it on the telly.

:wink: 

Sue


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

*Re: Blockade of French Ports*



Invicta said:


> Expect those with Motorhomes stuck at the French ports are so pleased to be in their 'homes on wheels'. At least they have a bed to sleep in and a toilet to use (well many of them).


They have just shown a whole row of them on the ITV early news with owners sitting comfortably outside in the sunshine. They did a short interview with a couple. It could be a real problem with those who have dogs and have to meet the 24/48 hour window.

peedee


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

*Re: Blockade of French Ports*



peedee said:


> Invicta said:
> 
> 
> > Expect those with Motorhomes stuck at the French ports are so pleased to be in their 'homes on wheels'. At least they have a bed to sleep in and a toilet to use (well many of them).
> ...


it was just what we were dreading with a our dog.
We were told if it did happen to get through Pet control and ask to be put on No mans land.
It is the strip of road just before the Passport checks for the Tunnel and on the quay side of the port for the Ferry.
can you imagine pushing to the front of the queue like that you be lynched by the mob wouldn't you.
If you dont though you would have to go back and find another Vet to have the treatment redone. 8O


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Think I would give up and go and find somewhere to stay, probably in Belgium until it all blew over. It really annoys me the way the French pick on the channel ports at the slightest provocation. I have had no desire to support their economy ever since they refused to buy our beef when it was given the all clear.

peedee


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Blockade*

Hi

Well, as per my phot on page one of the thread, I have first hand experience of being blocked in - although on that occasion, the delay was short. The real inconvenience is for people already of the ferries - such as the two yesterday that were out at sea for hours.

If I was overseas at present, I would rebook with TransEuropaFerries and sail Ostend to Ramsgate.

I am not sure if the fishermen do always get what they want, but the problem is if they do, then the next time they want something, they will do the same again.

As for being stranded on a ferry, that would be my idea of fun just as was the case on the Pride of Rotterdam last year. The longer I'm at sea the better 

Russell


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

I heard on the news that they are planning on blockading the tunnel as well.


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## ICDSUN (Oct 10, 2006)

pippin said:


> I heard on the news that they are planning on blockading the tunnel as well.


Tunnel running OK earlier today, albeit very full and long lines at check in, 1.5 hours to get through, mainly due to people who cannot read simple signs or instructions blocking all lanes trying to buy tickets from the self check in machine, they are creaming the money in on all those who need to get back to UK about £180 one way seemed to be the going rate

Chris


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## Wupert (Aug 6, 2007)

gevans55 said:


> Good on them - protest is the only way to change some things and its their country so why shouldnt they do as they wish.
> 
> If we dont like it, we can stop travelling to France cant we? I am bit tired of the French bashing on here (not to mention all the other bashing and negativity)
> 
> ...


No Probs

I'll speak to our 500 school children who will be on their way to Calais from Austria after their ski holiday with us

I'll tell them to contact you so you can explain why they have to spend hours extra on a coach because of another French disruption of our right to travel

I'm sure they and their parents will understand

Think outside the box please


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

It is to be lifted today http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8001311.stm It was all a cunning plan by the French to increase tunnel revenues!

peedee


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

I see it was costing P&O £1 million a day! At that price would it not have been worth the financial consequences of just steaming through the blockade?
peedee


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## moblee (Dec 31, 2006)

> they are creaming the money in on all those who need to get back to UK about £180 one way seemed to be the going rate


No surprises there chris :!: They've got a captive audience there they know you've got to get home.

I've tried to get home early, before my booked time & they have tried to charge extortionate rates for the one-way trip spent a few nights at Calais plage rather than pay those Pirates.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

So the French navy can deal with pirates off Somalia

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8000447.stm

but they can't deal with their home-grown pirates.

I hope that P&O and others get their claims in for loss of business...


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## devonidiot (Mar 10, 2006)

Spokesman said this morning on BBC that those suffering finacial loss should sue the French government.

I haven't checked my passport, but doesn't it say that the holder should be allowed to travel unhindered? (Or words to that effect )

Perhaps travellers should sue the department that controls the subsidy payments to these fishermen. Thheir quarrel is with the French government, not with the innocebt traveller.


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## ronin56 (May 25, 2007)

gevans55 said:


> Good on them - protest is the only way to change some things and its their country so why shouldnt they do as they wish.
> 
> If we dont like it, we can stop travelling to France cant we? I am bit tired of the French bashing on here (not to mention all the other bashing and negativity)
> 
> ...


Hear Hear! Well said.


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## Invicta (Feb 9, 2006)

Taken from today's Kent Online

*P&O trials Ostend to beat future strikes*

P&O is seeing if its ships will fit at Ostend.

Bosses at P&O Ferries are considering using Ostend to beat any future action by French fishermen at Calais.

The Pride of Dover ferry is travelling to Belgium for berthing trials to find out whether it fits at the port.

P&O spokesman Brian Rees said the company was fed up with the disruption caused by the fishermen at Calais.

He said: "There's no law saying we only have to use Calais. We don't know if the Pride of Dover and her sister ship the Pride of Calais will fit there, and there is only one way to find out.

"So we are sending the ferry to Ostend for berthing trials."

Mr Rees said the company's patience was running out, having to cope with the disruption "time and time again".

But he said P&O would not consider switching from Calais to Ostend permanently.

The move comes after two days of blockades by the French fishermen at Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk in a protest over EU fishing quotas.

Hundreds of freight vehicles have been waiting to cross the Channel, and holiday makers and day-trippers have also been delayed.

The blockades at Calais and Dunkirk were lifted during the night, and P&O operated ships every half hour throughout the night to help clear the backlog.

It is understood that the fishermen have now called off their action.

Meanwhile, P&O Ferries are preparing a claim for compensation for the latest dispute. They say the industrial action has cost them around £1million in lost business every day.

The LD Lines ferry Cote d'Albatre is sailing to Dieppe today instead of Boulogne.


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

gevans55 said:


> I am bit tired of the French bashing on here (not to mention all the other bashing and negativity)


I too tire of the same old subjects bashing out the same themes but I never tire of bashing the French. They are too easy a target. They do have some good things in their country but they do have an insular outlook on life both as individuals and government. Some of this is to be admired but on the whole it does not fit comfortably in today's global environment.

peedee


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Yeh, well, just how far has _today's global environment _ got us at the moment?

Meltdown!


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

and you own a Hymer pippin ?


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## 97734 (Feb 16, 2006)

Hey Wupert - would that be the box of fish they cant catch anymore or some other box?

Perhaps you could - nay should - take the time to also explain to the 500 school kids the basics of the labour market. You now - the bit where if workers or certain sub groups in an industry are unreasonably stiffed by some eurofatcat in Brussels who decides that they cant continue to pursue a reasonable livelihood that they have a few limited options to redress the wrongs - protest being one.

Have a happy day looking inside that box you think I should be looking out of.


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## 97734 (Feb 16, 2006)

Peedee - perhaps their insular outlook is what makes their country such an attractive and friendly place for all those people that travel there let alone those that choose to migrate there each year. I wonder if it also helps them to be the fourth largest economy in the world and one of the leading nations in terms of health care and social services and transportation and such like.

I doubt that the claim of being insular could be uniquely proscribed to France - there is not a country in the world that puts their interests second to their own!

If we are all so aggrieved at being disrupted by the French doing what they do we should not travel there. Silly me, then we non insular Brits would have nothing to moan about. Oh dear how sad never mind.

As I said at the outset, good on them for their protests, they achieved a victory no matter how small it may seem to your or I. In their position, they have one or two ways to protect themselves and their families from financial hardships for years to come. The plight of a few of us inconvenienced by perhaps a few hours or days delay is negligible by comparison to their potential hardships.


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

As far as I am concerned, they happen to be one of the closest foreign countries to us and provide a gateway into a far more interesting world. I always pass through these days, generally as quick as possible. Their closeness is what mostly attracts the visitor from the UK! 

What ever you think of their protests it doesn't exactly endear them to others no matter what you say. Ok one might forgive them for the rare occasion but all too regularly they target other than their own.

peedee


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Mea culpa Peedee.

Especially when I look back on my career in the British Merchant Navy, helping to shift countless thousands, perhaps millions, of tons of stuff from A-B and Y-Z all over the world - sometimes the same stuff in reverse directions!

I do remember being stuck in the Royal Docks by the strikes of the intransigent and backward looking dockers. 
Look where that got them - the docks closed and out of jobs!


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