Richard Lough and Sudip K-Gupta

PARIS (Reuters), -France seized a British trawler in France’s territorial waters and gave a verbal warning. The incident came amid a row among neighbours regarding access to fisheries after Brexit.

France is furious that Britain refused to issue its fishermen the maximum number of licenses for fishing in British waters. Paris threatened to take revenge if talks fail.

Paris stated that from Nov. 2, it would add additional customs inspections to British imports into France. This could increase the economic woes of Britain which has been struggling with labour shortages and rising energy prices.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government also is reviewing a second volley, but does not foresee a review on its exports of electricity from Britain.

Annick Girardin (France’s Seas Minister) stated that “it’s not warfare, but it’s a fight.”

Clement Beaune, French European Affairs Minister, stated that France will now employ the language of force because it seemed to be what Britain was able to understand.

Boris Johnson, British Prime Minster, didn’t immediately reply to my request for comment regarding the detained trawler.

Britain had earlier stated that France’s planned acts in retaliation would receive a proper and balanced response.

A British spokesperson said that France’s threats were disappointing and unproportional and they are not the kind of thing we would expect from an ally or partner.

French maritime gendarmes performed multiple inspections of fishing vessels at Le Havre port in northern France overnight.

French authorities now have control over the seized trawler. The vessel was rerouted from Le Havre to Le Havre by a maritime police officer and tied at the port’s dockside.

According to the ministry, the captain of the vessel could be facing criminal charges and his catch may be confiscated.

Britain claimed it has issued fishing licences to vessels that can show an operating record in British waters during the period prior to the withdrawal of the European Union from its waters on January 31, 2020.

This week, negotiations between Britain and European Commission on the matter have been ongoing.

French patience seems to have waned over Britain’s failures since Brexit. They cite fishing, and they are now requesting that the Northern Ireland protocol be renegotiated to ensure the EU’s integrity.

Extra customs inspections on goods traveling between Britain, Europe and Africa via the Channel Tunnel and ferry could cause serious disruption to trade flows.