On 28 August President Macron told French ambassadors in his annual address, ‘France wants to maintain a strong, special relationship with London but not if the cost is the European Union's unravelling’. He urged Europe to exert itself as ‘a trade and economic power’, which defends its strategic interests. See Meanwhile about 35 French boats surrounded and rammed five British vessels, leading to an angry standoff in an longstanding dispute over scallop fishing in the English Channel. The French accused British boats of over-fishing off the coast of Normandy, stating they are protecting scallop beds. As they threatened to reignite a simmering ‘scallop war’, the British fishermen called on the Government to intervene. Some believe this incident is exacerbated by the Brexit negotiations. See