The French decision to close the border with the United Kingdom to people and trucks came as a surprise to the British, British transport minister Shapps told Sky News. At least for the next two days, no traffic will be allowed to France due to the mutation of the coronavirus in the UK, it was announced late last night.
“I am in contact with my French colleague and we are doing everything we can to restart it. They have informed us that they will allow freight traffic again as soon as possible,” said Shapps. According to him, France goes further than other countries in terms of freight traffic.
These truck drivers are stranded at Dover harbor:
The British import of corona vaccines is not endangered, according to the minister: vaccines are mainly imported via containers and are not transported by truck drivers. There is, he says, no reason whatsoever to hoard for Christmas. Nevertheless, the government is investigating where possible shortages may arise.
Shapps further stated that while the mutations of the coronavirus have been detected more quickly in the United Kingdom than in other countries, many countries are also affected by the variant. The French Minister of Health said that the variant may also circulate in France, although no official case has yet been reported.
“You should certainly not be in the port of Dover in the coming days,” says correspondent Tim de Wit. The port was closed to all trucks and passenger cars at the beginning of the night. Only individual trailers are still shipped to France.
“There have been long traffic jams in recent days, because companies are still trying to transport freight quickly due to Brexit,” says De Wit. “But now you cannot get through it at all. It will be a long wait for the drivers who were already there and they have to hope that they will be home in time for Christmas.”
It is still possible to travel to Dover via Calais, but it is unclear if and when the drivers will be able to return. The Transport and Logistics Netherlands branch organization therefore advises lorry drivers not to travel to the UK for the time being.
Normally 10,000 trucks a day cross the border around this time. De Wit speaks of a unique situation. “For the first time in decades it will no longer be possible to leave the British island. At least for the next 48 hours, you will not be able to do so by plane, train, ferry or car through the Channel Tunnel.”
The UK government is meeting today in crisis meeting to develop a coordinated approach to transport to and from the UK. EU president Germany has also scheduled a crisis meeting.