Thread: French riot police battle illegal immigrants

French riot police battle the migrants queueing to get into Britain

Last updated at 01:24am on 22nd September 2007


Riot police are patrolling French ports to combat the increasing violence caused by illegal immigrants bound for Britain.

The authorities in Calais, Cherbourg and Dunkirk have complained they are increasingly powerless to cope with the growing numbers congregating in makeshift camps.


Immigrants throw rocks at unwelcome guests in the port

Bernard Cazeneuve, Calais's mayor, said these camps "generate violence" and "create a situation which we are not able to control".

He called for proper facilities to be provided for migrants, raising the spectre of a second Sangatte.

The notorious Red Cross centre, close to the entrance of the Channel Tunnel near Calais, attracted thousands of immigrants before it was closed in 2002.

However, the French president has pledged that another Sangatte will not be built.

Instead, Nicolas Sarkozy has reacted to the refugee problem with increasingly heavy-handed policing.

On Thursday, the CRS, elite police more usually associated with quelling urban disturbances, arrived in Normandy and began 24-hour patrols.

"We are here because local forces are having difficulty coping with the growing menace caused by illegal immigrants," said a spokesman.


A makeshift camp in Cherbourg

In Cherbourg, up to 160 would be asylum seekers try to jump on to lorries heading for Britain every night, according to the ferry port's management.

Serge Henry, the port director, said urgent action is needed. "The problems never end and, if anything, are getting worse."

Police guarding the area are stretched to the limit, but almost 300 a week are arrested.

Officers said troublemakers are arrested on a regular basis.

But as immigrants have no fixed abode, or official papers, dealing with them is difficult.

"In many cases, there is absolutely nothing we can do," said a police spokesman.

"They do not want to claim asylum here. All they want to do is get to Britain.

"It is a major problem for both countries."

Mr Sarkozy has pledged to deport 25,000 illegal immigrants this year.

The mayors urged him to stop French ports becoming a base from which to get into Britain.

In response to their calls, immigration minister Brice Hortefeux ordered the CRS to the northern ports.

The mayors said the immigrants are often from war-torn countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, but there are also economic immigrants attracted to Britain by social security benefits.

Others hope to work in Britain's burgeoning black economy, they said.

Mr Hortefeux told the National Assembly in Paris: "We have to reinforce the police presence."

One of the largest makeshift camps in Cherbourg is on a stretch of industrial wasteland overlooking the harbour.

One immigrant, claiming to be a 24-year-old Iraqi, said: "All we want to do is get to Britain.

"The police attack us and treat us badly.

"We have no food or accommodation or toilets, so it is little surprise that some of us get into trouble.

"When this trouble happens it makes us even more determined to get to Britain."

A spokesman for the French homelessness charity Terre d'Asile said: "It appears that the strategy is to beat the illegal immigrants out of France so that they become someone else's problem.

"Any refugee involved in any kind of trouble is normally hauled before a judge and deported. The rest are left to plot their journeys across the sea.

"The situation is getting completely out of hand, and countries like Britain are finding themselves at the centre of all the problems."

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I would tell Britan to do something now, and I'd advise France to offer free boat rides to England.

Dixie

Originally Posted by Dixie

I would tell Britan to do something now, and I'd advise France to offer free boat rides to England.

Dixie

I would advise both countries to get out of the European Union.