As 29 March gets nearer and Theresa May tries to get a Brexit deal through parliament, preparations for no deal continue in both London and mainland Europe. It’s been well-documented that the UK government’s preparations haven’t been optimal, and many British companies aren’t really prepared for no deal. However, on the other side of the Channel, things aren’t going all that well either.
France
Surely in France, where the government is more centralised, the situation is more under control? The French government has begun recruiting an extra 740 customs officials and veterinary inspectors. It’s also spending millions on security at ports and airports, and is passing legislation granting it the right to push through laws by emergency decree.
Nevertheless, Medef, France’s largest employer federation, thinks there will be severe trade disruption and ‘absolute chaos in Calais and other ports which export goods to the UK’ in the event of a hard exit.
Jean-Marc Puissesseau, the chief executive of the port of Calais, received a lot of attention when he claimed that the port ‘will be ready’ for no deal. ‘There will not be any delay’ for trucks, he declared. But it was only in March 2018 that he was claiming the opposite: that customs and sanitary checks could lead to 30-mile tailbacks.
His latest stance is likely in response to concerns that Calais may lose trade to its northern rivals in Belgium and the Netherlands. Xavier Bertrand, chairman of the Hauts-de-France region has basically corrected Puissesseau, stating there was a real danger the port could grind to a standstill, because ‘even at the moment you can see queues of more than half a mile to the tunnel and that is where there are no checks. Imagine what it will be like with checks.’
The National Federation of Road Transporters have pointed out that ‘the new buildings for the extra checks haven’t been built yet and we just don’t know if things will be ready for March 30.’ They also worry that if there are more lorries backed up on roads, it will be harder to stop migrants desperate to reach the UK from trying to sneak in.
