Paris: Growing numbers of illegal migrants desperate to enter Britain are converging on the French port of Calais and authorities are struggling to find a response, French Immigration Minister Eric Besson said.
Hundreds of migrants, mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea, camp in woods near Calais, known locally as the ‘jungle', from which they make nightly attempts to board trucks about to cross the Channel by train or ferry.
"The people-trafficking networks are becoming more and more sophisticated and professional, and clandestine migrants are prepared to take ever greater risks to cross, whatever the cost," Besson said in an interview late on Wednesday.
"From what we are seeing, more people have managed to cross the Channel over the past 12 to 24 months and that is a draw for growing numbers of migrants," he said.
The Calais ‘jungle' sprang up after France closed a large Red Cross shelter in nearby Sangatte in 2002 under pressure from Britain, which saw it as a magnet for illegal migrants.
The closure, combined with police checks and fines for truck drivers found carrying stowaways reduced the flow of migrants to Calais, though it never stopped completely. Now it is rising again.
Dozens of new makeshift huts sprout daily. There is a sprawling tent city where life has become organised, with mosques made of plastic sheeting and a rota for food shopping.
Besson visited the woods in January and said he was shocked by what he saw but there was a limit to what France could do.
"Every night the state offers 25 to 50 free beds in shelters a few kilometres from Calais, with a free bus to get there, and every night all those beds are empty," Besson said.
"The reason is simple ... They want to stay as close as possible to the port to have a chance to board trucks and cross the Channel, which remains their obsession." continues here
Hundreds of migrants, mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea, camp in woods near Calais, known locally as the ‘jungle', from which they make nightly attempts to board trucks about to cross the Channel by train or ferry.
"The reason is simple ... They want to stay as close as possible to the port to have a chance to board trucks and cross the Channel, which remains their obsession."
"The people-trafficking networks are becoming more and more sophisticated and professional, and clandestine migrants are prepared to take ever greater risks to cross, whatever the cost," Besson said in an interview late on Wednesday.
"From what we are seeing, more people have managed to cross the Channel over the past 12 to 24 months and that is a draw for growing numbers of migrants," he said.
The Calais ‘jungle' sprang up after France closed a large Red Cross shelter in nearby Sangatte in 2002 under pressure from Britain, which saw it as a magnet for illegal migrants.
The closure, combined with police checks and fines for truck drivers found carrying stowaways reduced the flow of migrants to Calais, though it never stopped completely. Now it is rising again.
Dozens of new makeshift huts sprout daily. There is a sprawling tent city where life has become organised, with mosques made of plastic sheeting and a rota for food shopping.
Besson visited the woods in January and said he was shocked by what he saw but there was a limit to what France could do.
"Every night the state offers 25 to 50 free beds in shelters a few kilometres from Calais, with a free bus to get there, and every night all those beds are empty," Besson said.
"The reason is simple ... They want to stay as close as possible to the port to have a chance to board trucks and cross the Channel, which remains their obsession." continues here
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