Four months into Brexit, the UK and France have resorted to gunboat diplomacy over fish

Take a glance at the British media and you'd be forgiven for thinking that the UK was preparing for war with France.

On Wednesday night, it was widely reported that the UK was to send two gunboats to the self-governing British island of Jersey, which sits just 14 miles off the French coast. On Thursday, France announced that it is sending its own navy ships to monitor the situation. The British warships were deployed in response to a protest by French fisherman at the port of Saint Helier, Jersey's capital, over post-Brexit rules on fishing rights. In short, France is angry that after decades of unfettered access to the waters around Jersey, fishing boats must now provide proof they have historically fished in the waters, and paperwork that is required since Britain left the European Union.