French fishermen battle police, disrupt ferries

Hundreds of French fishermen clashed with police in Paris and severely disrupted cross-Channel traffic on Wednesday as they stepped up a 10-day-old protest against soaring fuel costs.

The fishermen, who have blockaded ports and oil depots for the past 10 days, hurled flares at police guarding the agriculture ministry where industry leaders were holding talks with the government. Officials said four police were injured.

On the Channel coast, hundreds of ferry passengers were left stranded as cordons of fishing boats blockaded Channel ports, including the main hub of Calais.

The British port of Dover was closed to ferry traffic as a result of the French blockade, causing a tailback of trucks on the main highway from London.

Operator SeaFrance said it had three ferries waiting to leave Calais and two in Dover. Ferry traffic was also disrupted out of Dieppe, Boulogne-sur-mer and the Breton port of Saint-Malo.

Passengers in France were being rerouted towards other ports such as Cherbourg or Le Havre, or to the Channel Tunnel, where Eurotunnel trains were running as normal.

Eurotunnel said it had stepped up services to try to accommodate the extra passengers.

French trawler operators and crew are demanding the government increase a three-year 310-million-euro (480 million dollar) rescue plan for the industry.

President Nicolas Sarkozy promised on Tuesday to help the fishermen cope with the cost of their diesel, which has almost doubled to 70 euro cents per litre since November.