Immigration minister, Robert Goodwill, told lawmakers that security was being stepped up in Calais, home to the “Jungle” camp where thousands of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa hope to cross the English Channel to Britain.
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Local activists estimate that the camp is now home to around 9,000 people, while government figures put the figure closer to 6,900.
People traffickers are reported to be going to extreme lengths in Calais in their efforts to reach the United Kingdom, with vehicles being torched, petrol bombs thrown and trees being cut down to block roads before drivers are threatened with chainsaws and machetes.
Protestors held signs reading, “My harbour is handsome, My city is beautiful”, in an effort to show camp residents that they are unwelcome.
Truckers were suffering from migrants attempting to climb into their vehicles to reach the United Kingdom, and even having their trucks attacked as they attempt to pass by the camp.
“We are truckers, not migrant traffickers”.
“The Jungle” is a nickname that has been given to various migrant camps around Calais since the mid-2000s, when the Sangatte refugee reception centre first became overcrowded forcing people to create an informal “shanty town” nearby.
Earlier in the day, Sagnard had complained of an escalation in attacks by migrants on trucks.
The protest began at dawn Monday- a slow convoy of trucks and tractors, impeding traffic along the main highway toward the Port of Calais.
“We want public order re-established here by a clearing of the northern part of the camp”, Calais’ Mayor Natacha Bouchart said at the protest.
The ministry reminded that French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve during his visit to the camp named Jungle on September 2 had promised to tear it down by the end of this year.
Truckers, farmers, businesses and residents said they’re fed up with crime and lawlessness. “We don’t know how we’re going to return in the evening because of the rocks and metal bars being thrown at us”.
The British government has sparked comparisons to Donald Trump after it confirmed plans to build a wall as part of a security overhaul at Calais.
Aid groups warn that a hasty shutdown of the camp would scatter the migrants, aggravate the city’s troubles and worsen the humanitarian situation. “We won’t move”, said demonstrator Raynald Roonis.
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“We should not be misunderstood”.
