French authorities have hit back at claims by the Port of Dover that French border control staff were to blame for a second day of hours-long delays, saying: “France is not responsible for Brexit.”
It came after the port blamed delays on insufficient border staff at police aux frontières.
The French transport minister – and the former Europe minister – Clément Beaune tweeted on Saturday afternoon that French authorities were “mobilised to control our borders and facilitate traffic as much as possible”.
Beaune, a close ally of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he had had a “constructive” exchange with his British counterpart Grant Shapps over the issue.
The regional prefect, Georges-François Leclerc, said at midday that of 9,000-10,000 vehicles due to travel from Dover to France on Saturday 60% had passed without any issue, with afternoon waits reduced to about 45 minutes.
Leclerc said it was wrong to suggest French border force officials were to blame for any delays. “Today the situation is back to normal,” he said. “The Port of Dover, which is a private port, found it easier to blame the French police.”
The row came as long queues formed at Dover and a major incident was declared as a second day of travel chaos consumed the key port amid additional post-Brexit checks.
Meanwhile, Liz Truss, the foreign secretary and Tory leadership candidate, said the problems are down to not enough border resources, rather than extra checks post-Brexit. She said she had been “very clear” with French authorities that it is “a situation that has been caused by a lack of resource at the border”.
The disruption came as most schools in England and Wales broke up for the summer holidays, marking the start of one of the busiest periods for foreign travel.
Passengers faced hours-long queues and were warned to expect another “very busy day” at Dover. Kent officials declared a major incident due to the traffic as P&O Ferries told travellers to allow at least three to four hours to pass through security and French border checks.
About 10,000 cars are predicted to travel through the port on Saturday – 1,500 more than on Friday. About 3,000 lorries are also reportedly waiting to cross the Channel.
The Port of Dover reported that 17,215 passengers had passed through the port and said that tourist flows were “normal”. But it advised all passengers to check their ferry operator’s website for updates before setting off.
French politician Pierre-Henri Dumont, the Republican MP for Calais, blamed the UK’s exit from the EU for the chaos, telling BBC News it was “an aftermath of Brexit” with more checks needed.
Dumont also accused London of having “rejected [a] few months ago a proposal to double the number of passport booths” for French police in Dover.
No need to blame French authorities for the traffic jams in #Dover: that’s an aftermath of #Brexit. We have to run more and longer checks.
— Pierre-Henri Dumont (@phdumont) July 23, 2022
The British government rejected few months ago a proposal to double the number of passport booths given to the French Police in Dover.
Post-Brexit travel rules mean British nationals may stay in the Schengen zone for no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. Until a fully automated border system is operational, passport stamps are now required at most entry and exit points, significantly increasing processing times.
The British Foreign Office is advising travellers to mainland Europe to get their passports stamped, noting that if “relevant entry or exit stamps are not in your passport, a border officer may presume you have overstayed your visa-free limit”.
In December 2020, the UK Cabinet Office reportedly rejected a £33m proposal to double the capacity for French government passport checks at Dover after the port requested funding to help it pay for additional Brexit-related border expenses.
The funding would have been used to double the number of French border police passport booths in anticipation of more stringent requirements – including stamps in passports from 1 January 2021 – the Financial Times reported.
ITV News reported on Wednesday that the Port of Dover was only then “expanding border capacity to avoid queues” after a deal with the French border force to operate 50% more passport control booths.
The port said the extra booths would be “installed before the summer getaway weekend” of 22-24 July, but conceded their operation would depend on French “resourcing levels, and we know resourcing around Europe … is tight”.
The local MP Natalie Elphicke said “long, long delays” are expected again and insisted French authorities “should apologise to Dover residents and holidaymakers for the unnecessary holiday chaos at the start of the summer getaway”.
A regional government official for Nord-Pas-de-Calais said in a statement on Friday evening that French officials had “of course anticipated the increased traffic levels” and put in place “an appropriate level of staffing”.
He said a “technical incident” at the Channel tunnel meant French border police had not been at full operating capacity in Dover until 8.45am on Friday, an hour later than planned, by which time long delays had built up.
UK authorities have rejected this explanation.
Labour’s Nick Thomas-Symonds accused the government of being “absent”, telling Times Radio that those in charge needed to be “taking a grip of this situation”.
