Was it War? French Fishermen trap British Yachties

'Trapped in France - how to spend the time?' .

This week over sixty British yachties were trapped in Cherbourg for a week, and attempts to flee were met with a barrage of flares and missiles.

French fishermen were protesting over the spiralling costs of diesel by drawing a steel cable across the mouth of Cherbourg harbour.

However, during the week, in true heroic style, the British sailors made two attempts to escape. The first, by a diving boat, was successful, despite the vessel being chased by fishing boats and bombarded with a hail of glass bottles.

'The Dunkirk spirit just caught on and we went for it,' said the captain, 43-year-old Steve Johnson.

A second attempt was thwarted after a boat was set on fire by a flare launched by protestors. The fire was quickly extinguished, and no-one was injured.

French police made no attempt to quell the protest, according to the trapped sailors. There is no record of how they were spending their time while waiting, and no mention of baguettes or Pinot Noir.

However there was a lot of talking going on. The Foreign Office was talking to France's interior ministry in an effort to resolve the situation, while Conservative MP Philip Hollobone was also doing some talking, pointing out the cultural differences between the French and the British.

The French Fleet - look carefully to see the Skull and Crossbones - .. .

'If it happened in this country the police would insist that people were able to get through. The firing of flares makes matters even worse and is more reason for the French police to intervene. I am staggered that the French authorities should behave in this way. It seems to be one law for the French and one law for everyone else.'

However, talking from his 'command ship', a Cherbourg-registered fishing vessel festooned in skull-and-crossbones motifs - which lent some additional power to his words - protestor Jean Lefevre poured cold sea water on the prospect of a swift resolution.

'Nobody is going anywhere,' he said.

'There are numerous people caught up in this dispute and if that includes the British, then that is too bad. They will have to stay in place like everybody else until we reach a resolution.'

Just when it looked as though war would be declared any dawn soon, the fishermen finally caved in to pressure from local and national governments and agreed to lift the underwater cable that had prevented any vessels' arrival or departure from the Normandy port.

You'll be glad to hear the British have now sheathed their swords and sailed home.

by Nancy Knudsen