9th July 1994

Jersey dispatches a tenth of its police force to Les Ecrehous

Jersey Police dispatched 24 officers to Les Ecrehous to protect islanders’ huts and repel a possible French invasion. Ten boats carrying 150 people had set off from Carteret, cheered on by almost 1000 French spectators. Because of the tides, they arrived over four hours later than the police, who had come ashore at 6am.

A good-natured ‘invasion’

Fortunately, the visitors didn’t have mischief in mind. Many had brought families and all had brought picnics, which they ate once they landed, and spent the whole day, awaiting the right tide to head for home. One of the passengers was a priest who said mass during the visit, having outlined a church and altar using seaweed.

The only trouble was an attempt by the French to replace the Union Flag with the flag of Normandy. Two French visitors got into a fight over this, requiring the assistance of a further 12 Jersey police, but otherwise the day passed off without any great incident. Two police officers slept on Ecrehous overnight.