France is set to implement a go-slow strategy for customs checks on shipments bound for Britain ahead of Christmas as the row over post-Brexit fishing rights continues.
Downing Street is bracing itself for further confrontation with president Emmanuel Macron as talks over the granting of licenses for French vessels to fish in UK waters continue.
According to The Sun, the country wants to increase import taxes on British goods but if it is unable to get the backing it needs from the European Union, it could cause tailbacks at Calais and Dover by ordering more physical checks.
French prime minister Jean Castex is reportedly set to warn EU and UK negotiators that they have until midnight on Friday to resolve the dispute.
France has been angered by Jersey's refusal to approve any more than 15 permits for small French fishing vessels to operate in British waters - after 47 applications were made.
France is set to implement a go-slow strategy for customs checks on shipments bound for Britain ahead of Christmas as the row over post-Brexit fishing rights continues. Above: Trucks queuing to enter the port of Calais last year
The country also says it asked for 450 fishing licences for UK waters but had only received 275.
If the situation is not resolved, it will further worsen Franco-British relations, which have recently taken a hit over Channel migrant crossings and the Aukus nuclear submarine deal signed with Australia and the US.
On Tuesday, Mr Castex is set to unveil a package of mooted reprisals which could be implemented as early as November 1.
It could include the cutting off of energy supplies to the UK and blocking Britain's fishing fleet from accessing French ports.
Some observers believe that Mr Macron is seeking to make political capital out of the row amid his hope to be re-elected as French president next year.
French boats were free to fish in the six-to-12 mile zone when the UK was in the EU, but now have to prove that they previously did so. France says they should keep the same level of access, accusing Britain of breaching the Brexit trade deal.
Downing Street is bracing itself for further confrontation with president Emmanuel Macron as talks over the granting of licenses for French vessels to fish in UK waters continue
Paris's maritime minister Annick Girardin is said to have set a November 1 deadline for the dispute to be resolved in a meeting with Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice president leading post-Brexit trade talks, and Virginijus Sinkevicius, the commissioner responsible for fisheries
France says they should keep the same level of access that they enjoyed before Britain's departure
