A scallop skirmish erupts between French, British boats
PARIS — It won’t be remembered as one of the great naval encounters between France and England but, unlike at the Battle of Trafalgar, this time French mariners felt they won.
Fishermen from rival French and British fleets banged their boats in ill-tempered skirmishes this week over access to the scallop-rich waters off France’s northern coast.
French maritime official Ingrid Parrot described the muscular confrontation between 35 French boats and five British ones in international waters on Tuesday morning as “very dangerous,” although there were no injuries.
“It was very, very tense,” she said. “We really hope things will calm down.”