Lorry drivers to block access to Calais in protest at failure to close ‘Jungle’ migrant camp
LORRY drivers are threatening to block access to the Channel ports until French authorities close down the Jungle migrant camp in Calais.
Fed-up shopkeepers and local business owners say they will paralyse traffic on the busy route next week in protest at the government's failure to take tough action.
They plan to use lorries to cripple the A16 motorway that runs past Calais and Boulogne, the Times reports.
At the same time protesters will form a human chain from a stadium in Calais to the port.
The planned blockade next week would bring chaos for thousands of British holidaymakers and truckers who rely on the cross-Channel ferries.
The Association of Calais Traders said: “We are changing our tactics after using soft methods and obtaining nothing but promises from the state that is giving priority to the wellbeing of the migrants over those of traders, port workers, hauliers, tourists and farmers.
“We will not budge from the motorway until the state gives us the dates for the total demolition of the northern zone of the jungle.”
The threat comes as a top French politician called for a new facility in Calais allowing migrants to claim asylum in Britain while still in France.
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Regional president Xavier Bertrand wants an area at the Jungle camp to become UK territory.
He warned: “It is not possible to keep the border here without a new agreement between the French and British governments.”
Mr Bertrand’s proposal echoes that of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who is seeking re-election.
He demanded “a centre in Britain to deal with asylum seekers so Britain can do the work that concerns them”.
Downing Street has dismissed the idea, which experts said would only encourage more migrants to flock to Calais.
Understanding the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp where thousands of migrants are desperate to make it to Britain
THE “Jungle” camp in Calais is home to roughly 10,000 desperate migrants and refugees from war-torn or poverty-stricken countries across the world. Many in the camp seek to enter the UK illegally via the Port of Calais, Eurotunnel, or by sneaking onto lorries making a trip across the Channel. Most come from conflict zones such as Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Sudan. The name "Jungle" came about because it is a translation of the Pashto word "dzhangal" which means forest, according to Calais Migrant Solidarity - a local activist NGO. Pashto is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan and is the second-largest regional language in Pakistan, and is used by many of the thousands of the refugees in the Calais camp. Migrants would set up camp on unoccupied land before building a camp elsewhere after being moved on by the authorities. Fourteen years later in April 2015 it was reported the "principal" camp in Calais was based on a former landfill site three miles from the centre of the city. It was said to be home to the 1000 of the 6000 refugees in Calais at the time, and was one of nine camps in the city. Unlike the others it had showers, toilets, electricity, and one hot meal was served each day. There have been various "jungle" camps around the French city since 1999.
The road leading to the port is regularly blocked by migrants who attack cars and lorries as they try to sneak into vehicles heading heading for the UK.
Several have died in accidents and fights in recent weeks. But migrants detained in nightly scuffles are usually released to try again the following day.
Police estimate a total of 12,000 migrants bound for Britain are now living rough or in emergency shelter near the Channel ports.
The notorious Jungle camp has swelled to almost 10,000 residents despite a series of crackdowns by riot cops who demolished part of the tent city.
The rise in population followed a change in policy by Socialist president Francois Hollande, designed to appeal to left-wing voters who were upset by the evacuation of the south side of the camp.
It has emerged the French government is sending fewer migrants back to their home countries even though the number arriving is going up.
Natacha Bouchart, the mayor of Calais, has repeatedly blamed the government — as well as Britain — for the crisis afflicting her town.
She said: “Either this government is failing to grasp the gravity of the situation or it no longer knows what to do and its inaction is an admission of impotence.”
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