French hijacks aired in Strasbourg
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FRENCH ATTACKS on lorry drivers and their loads were soundly condemned at the January session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The only voice raised in support of the hijackers was that of French Communist member Mme Sylvie Le Roux: "The French farmers are showing their exasperation . . . they cannot allow freedom of movement of goods to become a steamroller which crushes their sources of income."
Speaking on behalf of the Communist faction in the assembly, she said: "We would support the protesters when they are trying to correct distortions in fair competition."
She argued that it was necessary to introduce what she referred to as "ethics" into trade between member states when some member states were producing three times their own requirement in certain products.
Leading the British attack was Christopher Prout, speaking also on behalf of Neil Balfour — the two Conservative members in whose constituencies the two kidnapped drivers live.
Mr Prout said that if the attacks continued, road transport would become "uninsurable"; the Community would lose what little it had gained in terms of easing internal trade and, without the rule of law, the whole fabric of democracy in the Community would be imperilled. "After all, what is the point of allowing people and goods to cross borders more freely if their safety cannot be guaranteed?" he asked.
The debate, raised as a matter of urgency under the Parliament's rules, brought complaints from several national groups against French attacks: a Belgian member complained that lorries carrying pork from his country had been attacked on the Franco-Belgian border.
And Kent Kirk, the Danish member who was at the centre of a fishing row last year, said he was getting many calls from worried lorry owners and drivers. "They feel very threatened," he said, "not just about the safety of driving in France, but also in Italy."
Replying to the debate, EEC Commissioner Karl-Heinz Narjes joined in the condemnations of "any arbitrary measure interfering with trade."
He pointed out that lorry owners and drivers had at least two sources of compensation: Community law required that members states should make compensation in cases where there were violations of EEC trade, while French law itself provided another recourse.
And efforts are being made to get the International Road Transport Union (IRU) to apply international pressure.
The matter was raised informally last week, when Freight Transport Association and Road Haulage Association officials attended a Brussels reception to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of its liaison committees there, but a more formal line is likely in the future.