Holidaymakers and heavy goods vehicles were left stuck in traffic jams en route to the port of Kent in southern England on Saturday, with the port admitting it will be “very busy today” and travelers warned to four hour wait.
The UK and France have been locked in a round of finger-pointing over the cause of the blockade, with British lawmakers blaming staffing on the French side and French officials nodding to increased customs checks following the Brexit.
“The British are right to complain, because there are traffic jams. But it’s not the fault of the French, it’s the fault of Brexit,” French deputy for Calais Pierre-Henri Dumont told French public radio France Info.
“The reality is that this is the first post-Brexit holiday. Following the UK’s final exit from the European Union and no travel restrictions due to the Covid pandemic… the French border force are carrying out checks as they have to do for one the entrance to the European Union and therefore it takes time,” he said.
The French MP also blamed the size of the port of Dover, which he said is “three times smaller than the port of Calais”.
Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister accepted that Brexit had caused delays, telling LBC on Saturday that his team “recognised that we are in a post-Brexit environment, which means that transaction times across borders will be longer.”
But British lawmakers have insisted that the lack of staff in Calais has blocked the route across the Channel.
Liz Truss, Britain’s foreign secretary and favorite to win a two-person race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, said “this terrible situation should have been totally avoidable and is unacceptable”.
“We need action from France to increase capacity at the border to limit any further disruption to British tourists and to ensure this terrible situation is avoided in the future. We will work with the French authorities to find a solution,” Truss said in a statement. Friday statement.
Dumont said all booths handed over by British authorities in Dover to the French Dover police were fully staffed, although he acknowledged a slight delay in the early hours of Friday due to “a technical failure”.
He denied accusations made in the British press of a “deliberate desire to punish the British”, adding that there are “many French families who make their living from crossing the English Channel. Sailors, men and women who are ashore” .
P&O Ferries told passengers to allow up to four hours to clear security at Dover on Saturday morning.
Relations between Britain and France have become increasingly strained since Britain left the European Union, with leaders from both countries clashing over travel and migrant boats crossing the channel.