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Over The Rainbow
What is it with the French and Greenpeace? Twenty years ago, French commandos bombed and sank the eco-protest group's flagship Rainbow Warrior. Now, Rainbow Warrior's successor, Rainbow Warrior 2, has been put "under siege" by Marseilles fishermen, as it attempted to continue its campaign against over-fishing of tuna stocks.
The BBC reports that the Greenpeace ship was surrounded by twenty French fishing vessels as it approached Marseilles (Greenpeace itself claims 25). French authorities were left with no option but to refuse it permission to dock in the port due to "technical and security reasons" A number of other ships, including cargo vessels and passenger ferries, were prevented from leaving the port due to the protest.
Greenpeace sources claim a "half-hearted attempt" was made to board their vessel, and that Rainbow Warrior was "pelted" with fruit and eggs by the counter-protestors.
The fisherman threatened to step up their protest by blocking a neighbouring port if Greenpeace does not leave the area: Greenpeace has promised to leave this evening.
The head of the fishermen's union, Mourad Kahoul, says that the ban on tuna fishing Greenpeace is demanding would wreck their livelihoods. The fishermen also argue that foreign fishermen are responsible for illegal overfishing. Greenpeace's spokesman countered that the French fisherman, along with others from Turkey and Libya, are "in denial" about the damage overfishing has done to tuna stocks, warning that the fishing industry in the region is built on a "diminishing pile of gold."
Greenpeace claims that 45,000 tons of tuna - 13,000 more than the legal limit - was hauled from the Mediterranean last year. It argues that leading scientists, NGOs and governments agree on the dangers posed by overfishing.
He described the actions of the fishermen as "pathetic" and "censorship."
French primary sector workers have a reputation for fiercely defending their livelihoods - and an unsentimental attitude to animal life.
