P&O Ferries is seeking an injunction against the French local authority which is providing French public sector support for LD Lines’ Transmanche cross-Channel ferry services, including their recent expansion on to new routes from Dover to Dieppe and Boulogne.

P&O’s action against the Syndicat Mixte de Promotion de l’activité Transmanche (SMPAT) is based on alleged breaches of French administrative law and EU state aid law. The case has been filed at the administrative court in Rouen.

In February, the French public spending watchdog, the Cour des Comptes, published a highly critical report on the use of public funds to support Transmanche operations, which have cost the French taxpayer €128m between 2001 and 2007.