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French President Emmanuel Macron has tried to pressure his EU allies into making little concessions during Brexit trade talks with the EU. He has vowed to fight for his fishermen’s interests, saying that they should not be punished for the UK’s decision to leave the bloc. However, as talks remain at a stalemate, the possibility of a no deal Brexit still looms, and could leave French fishermen in a difficult position. Under Brussel’s Common Fisheries Policy, European vessels have been granted access to the UK’s lucrative fishing grounds. But a no deal Brexit could mean that EU fishermen are suddenly cut off when the transition period ends in December.

German broadcaster DW visited Boulogner-sur-Mer in October, where one fisherman warned “everything will grind to a halt here”.

He added that he doesn’t think Brexit will be a “death sentence, but maybe we can still salvage something”.

However, another fisherman was less optimistic, warning of a “catastrophe for our lives”.

France and the UK have been sharing fishing waters for centuries, and in recent years coastal nations in the EU have become dependent on UK waters.

Between 2012 and 2016 for example, France caught 120,000 tonnes of fish worth £171million (€192million), according to Marine Management Organisation figures.

As for the Netherlands and Denmark, they both caught around £90million’s worth (€101million).

However, the UK only gained £17million’s worth (€19million) of landing in return from France’s fishing grounds in the same period.

A no deal Brexit is something both the UK and the EU have looked to avoid.

However, with trade talks only providing little progress so far, fears that this could be the outcome remain high.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier has demanded that the UK keep its fishing waters open – while Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised Brexit voters he will “take back control” of British fishing grounds.

Negotiations have also encountered difficulty over regulation. The EU wants the UK to accept a level playing field of trading standards and laws if it is to have access to European markets.

As France remains a key player in the talks, Mr Macron will be hoping to avoid the economic hit of a no deal.

In 2019, the head of France’s main farmers’ union warned that a no deal Brexit could have a severe impact on French agricultural exports.

Christiane Lambert of the FNSEA union said French wine and spirits producers would be hit hardest, as their sector had a £1.1billion (€1.2bn) annual surplus in trade with the UK.

France has an annual surplus of about £9billion (€9.86bn) in trade with the UK.

About £2.75billion (€3bn) of that surplus flows from French agricultural exports, making the UK the third-largest market for French farm goods.

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Mr Macron recently warned that Britain would lose more in a no deal scenario than the EU, saying the right to fish in British waters was worth €750million (£684million) to EU fishermen, but access to European energy markets was worth up to £2billion (€ 2.19bn) to Britain.

He added: “So that’s a bad deal for the UK.”

However, Brexiteers have fumed at the EU’s stance.

Brexiteer Andrew Bridgen told Express.co.uk that the EU’s requests could not be met.

The Tory MP said: “Ultimately what the EU’s demands are, given we are now a sovereign nation, accepting EU regulations, rights to fishing grounds and the European Court of Justice to rule over the agreement of our future relationship.

“They are not demands that any independent country that hasn’t lost a war would agree to.”

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