French port blockaded over coffee machine row

Thousands of travellers had their plans disrupted over the weekend by striking French workers who had blockaded ships in the French port of Calais.

It has been reported that some 6,000 people were affected by this and the actions of the striking workers left ferries stranded, unable to enter or leave the port until ordered had been restored and normal services were able to resume yesterday morning.

According to Nord Littoral, a local newspaper which covers the area around Calais, the reason for the barricade was so that coffee machines could be reclaimed. One ferry worker, who wasn’t part of the strike action, is quoted as saying: “Basically they wanted to get the material for themselves – mainly the coffee machines.”

From what we can gather, this is the latest chapter of a long running dispute between Maritime Nord and Calais officials after two ferries were sold to the Danish group DFDS, putting jobs at risk.

Since that deal was rubber stamped, protesters have not only blockaded the port, but also set up barriers on the roads surrounding Calais and the Eurotunnel terminal itself.

But, as we mentioned earlier, this action was, reportedly, about coffee machines.

The union stated that possessions that were on the ship, such as the coffee machines, were property of the union. Eurotunnel – which used to own the ferries and rent them to Maritime Nord before the sale – disagreed.

So, on Sunday morning, numerous activists, purportedly led by the general secretary of the Maritime Nord union, Eric Vercoute, placed three lifeboats in the entrance to the harbour, causing the blockade and ruining the plans of the 6,000 holidaymakers.

The protest did win out in the end however when France’s Interior Ministry granted the workers access to the ferries, allowing them to take the coffee machines.

All’s well that ends well. Or something.