LONDON — What started as a relatively obscure dispute over fishing rights rapidly escalated into converging British and French naval ships, as French authorities threatened to cut off electricity this week to Jersey, an island of about 108,000 people. To be clear: Britain and France are unlikely to go to war. But the flare-up is a bizarre chapter in relations between the countries, and a sign of the ongoing difficulties in a post-Brexit world. For those confused by it all, let’s get you caught up. Jersey is an English-speaking island, about twice the land size of Manhattan, in the English Channel, about 14 miles off the northwestern coast of France.

Source: New York Times May 06, 2021 16:02 UTC