The Spanish fishermen repulsed an attack from the British marines

A funny story took place on Monday at the Mediterranean coast of Spain. The incident could be over with the international scandal, but it was ok after all.

The British military men were exercising the coast landing. However, they made a mistake due to the bad weather and landed on the territory of Spain, not in Gibraltar, as it was supposed to be. The marines started taking their defensive positions, according to the military rules. It is not known, how long were they going to do it, but the local fishermen stopped them. At first they were shocked, but then, after they calmed down, they explained to the English that the isthmus that was linking Gibraltar with the rest part of the Pyrenean peninsula, was further south. So it was then the time for the British to be surprised, but they did not argue about it, they simply boarded their boat and left the area. The military department of Great Britain of course presented its apologies and said that they were sorry for the incident. The Spanish government accepted the apologies and did not stir up the scandal.

However, that story could have had a different ending. There are complicated negotiations taking place currently between Spain and Great Britain, about the status of Gibraltar. The problem is rather serious. The citizens of Gibraltar do not have a wish to become the citizens of Spain, although the official departments of both Spain and great Britain do not have big contradictions pertaining to the future of the British colony. Madrid is well aware of it, so the incident with the British marines could make the negotiations a lot worse. But the Spanish politicians turned out to be the people with a good sense of humor and did not let the story become scandalous.

Vasily Bubnov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov