There was little sign of a solution to the post-Brexit fishing dispute between Britain and France on Sunday, despite hopes that a meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson could bring progress. The two leaders met behind closed doors on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome. But afterwards, each side gave contrasting accounts of what was agreed. The Elysée was quick to communicate, saying the French president and British prime minister had decided to work towards a rapid "de-escalation" of the toxic row that has threatened to blow up into a trade war and distract attention from the COP26 summit now under way. AFP quoted a French presidency source as saying the two governments would seek to bridge gaps in the next few days. Both sides would ensure that "practical and operational measures are taken as quickly as possible to avoid a rise in tension", the source added. Differences related to "a few dozen boats", and it was "perfectly possible" to reach a solution. France called on the UK to "respect the rules of the game" and the terms of the Brexit deal it signed, the Elysée added. But the war of words between the two governments quickly continued, the UK moving to contest the French account. "Our position has not changed," a spokesperson for Boris Johnson said. The UK appeared to put the ball firmly in the French court. "If the French government wants to come forward with proposals for a de-escalation of the threats they have formulated, they will be welcome," the Downing Street official told reporters in Rome. Paris also seems to have left open the possibility of retaliatory measures against London in protest at the lack of post-Brexit fishing licenses granted to French fishing boats. The Elysée source added that the situation would be reviewed on Tuesday. Sunday morning"s meeting in Rome between the French and British leaders was the first since the Australian submarine crisis provoked by the AUKUS deal, and the escalation of post-Brexit tension between Paris and London on other issues too such as fishing and migration. Earlier on Sunday, France"s Europe Minister Clément Beaune took to Twitter — "to explain what"s going on in fisheries, beyond spin" — replying to a post the previous day by UK Brexit Minister David Frost. France had negotiated "patiently and constructively" with the British for months "boat by boat", Beaune said — to no avail. "We do not lack just a few licenses, but more than 40% of French detailed requests. For the EU as a whole, around 90% of the expected licenses have been granted, but all the missing ones are French," he tweeted. On Saturday Frost said the UK wanted to set the record straight on "recent French rhetoric and threats, potentially leading to a breach by the EU of its Treaty obligations". He added that 98% of fishing license applications had been granted — a figure contested by Beaune and others, and which refers to the EU as a whole, not France. Also on Saturday, London said it was "actively considering" launching legal action under the Brexit deal if France carried out its threat to increase controls on British exports arriving in French ports. Paris has threatened to increase customs and sanitary checks on goods coming across the Channel from Nov. 2, including a ban on British fishing vessels at ports and increased checks on trucks, which could slow down trade. Under the Brexit trade deal concluded just before Christmas 2020, EU fishing boats can continue to fish in British waters if they obtain a license. But they need to prove that they previously were fishing there — a requirement that smaller French boats, lacking the appropriate technology, have found difficult to fulfill. Many have failed to secure licenses from authorities in the UK or the Channel island of Jersey. France argues the boats are well known to the British authorities and their past records are is common knowledge, although some French commentators question their strict rights under the letter of the law. Paris accuses London of acting in bad faith and of interpreting the Brexit agreement on fishing totally differently to the Northern Ireland Protocol — also part of an international treaty but which the Johnson government wants to rip up. For the UK, a letter addressed last week by the French prime minister to the European Commission president proves that a greater political dimension is coming into play on the French side. "It is imperative to demonstrate clearly to European public opinion that respect for commitments undertaken is not negotiable and that there is more damage in leaving the Union (EU) than in staying in," Jean Castex wrote in the letter to Ursula von der Leyen. Tensions over fishing, which have been simmering for months, have electrified post-Brexit fault lines on either side of the English Channel, blowing up into a full-scale dispute that could now flare up still further. Although it represents only a tiny proportion of each country"s wealth, the industry"s symbolic importance is seismic. Both sides may have economic reasons to avoid an escalation — but political reasons not to. France has a presidential election in six months" time and northern France is a key battleground for President Macron. For the British prime minister, the row arguably helps detract from domestic troubles — including the increasingly evident damage done by Brexit. Both leaders have plenty of support at home to count on. Much of the British press has turned on Macron and his government"s attempt to draw the EU into the row. For many in France, the UK stance only enhances their view of Boris Johnson: that of an opportunist who has embraced nationalist populism, a serial liar — and in the words of one commentator on Saturday, a "British Trump". — Euronews