Anyone surprised in the slightest by the news this morning regarding the french customs antics at Dover? https://news.sky.com/video/share-12656814 EDIT - Authorities added to post title as I’m not wanting to slight the entire population
Haha, blaming the French. Brexit made the annual exodus 10x worse with all of the border checks now required and yet our right wing media continue to shift the blame. What else can we do to humiliate ourselves further in the eyes of the world
The border forces on both sides had fair warning after watching the calamity at airports since April. Beggars belief 2 countries 25 miles apart get these things so wrong and dont seem to have the will to get it right. Can't keep blaming Brexit or eachother, it's just sheer volume and lack of organisation on both parts. I've used ferries to Europe pre and post Brexit (2016 and 2021) as a tourist on the bike and couldn't tell the difference. Show your passport, tickets, fill out forms and get on. Even if Brexit were playing a part we can't keep moaning about it, it's done now, best to get it working smoothly. I've travelled globally without fuss, there's no legitimate reason that just because Brexit happened travelling to France has to be chaotic every year.
We can and should blame Brexit for this debacle at the ports. The increased security checks are a direct result of decisions made as part of Brexit, whereas before checks were merely cursory now French border police HAVE to stamp passports of every single traveller; believe it or not this was actually requested as part of negotiations!!
I'm not going to argue with you as I don't have an axe to grind about Brexit, but that wasn't my experience when I travelled in September.
I haven't been anywhere abroad since Brexit so I can't really comment except to say that I've heard a few stories of people being (I can only say what looks like) harrassed by French and Spanish police, being stopped several times in their camper and asked for all papers, mot, insurance etc, which in itself is not a smoking gun, but in the past 40 years of doing the same, they've not had a single incident. The one couple had been stopped three times on the way down to Portugal, the first time within a mile of coming off the ferry. I admit it's only third party anecdotes, but it does seem like something has changed in that regard.
Just been to several Scandinavian countries both in and out of the EU. No problems with any of them passport wise. Brexit or not I do think that the French and to a lesser extent the Spanish are both in to making as much nuisance as they can for us. Just history repeating itself ever since DeGaulle said Non !
Yes but it doesn’t explain why only half of the French control booths were manned. Brexit or no they’re playing silly buggers.
So on that basis, how do you explain the delays that occurred pre Brexit? It has sod all with having to stamp a passport (that takes seconds), it is simply a case that the French do not and never have liked us (we have over 200 years of history to substantiate that) and Macron in particular wants to do whatever he can to screw us over. Even going into Russia (when we could before the current issues) with the Spanish inquisition type questioning the butch female border force gave you, it still only took a couple of minutes. Sorry if you are a staunch remainer, but your argument carries no weight. It is just all about the lazy French authorities not doing their job properly.....
That's a bit of a simplification... they're supposed to also be checking that the incomers haven't staid more than 90 days in the last 180 (or something like that) and also verifying that all incomers have the funds to support themselves throughout their stay. Agreed, there is an element of that. But can you blame them? We've foisted this expense upon them. AIUI they asked for £33m to improve their booths/controls, and we said no. Frankly too many were sold Brexit on the "they need us more than we need them" spin, and are now finding out, that's bollox!
