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Migrants have gathered in and around
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
, on the northern French coast, since at least the late 1990sN. Bajekal,
Inside Calais's Deadly Migrant Crisis
(01/08/15) in Time
seeking to enter the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
from the French port by crossing the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at ...
or stowing away in the cargo area of lorries heading for
ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...
that cross the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. During this time, informal camps of migrants have formed, the most notorious commonly referred to as the Calais Jungle. Other migrants come to the area because they are
homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
while seeking asylum in France. The presence of migrants in and around Calais has affected the British and French governments, the Eurotunnel and P&O Ferries companies, and lorry drivers heading for the UK and their companies. EuroTunnel (now Getlink), the company that operates the Channel Tunnel, said that it intercepted more than 37,000 migrants between January and July 2015.


Migrant population


Demographics

The migrant population around Calais has changed as global crises have changed. In the late 1990s, for instance, most people had travelled to the area to escape conflict in the Balkans. Nearly two decades later Kurdish Iraqis were the largest group, but by 2014 many people had begun to arrive from the
Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
and
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
. Many of the Kurdish Iraqis later moved to similar camps near Calais and
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
. Prior to the eviction of the large Jungle camp, a July 2016 survey of the population of the Calais Jungle by Help Refugees counted 7,307 migrants (of which 761 were minors): the largest number to date. At that time, the population was increasing by an average of 50 people per day. After the Brexit vote on 23 June 2016, the population had reportedly increased to nearly 10,000. An estimated 62% of the migrants were young men; the migrants' average age was 33. Most of them do not speak French.


Motivation

Calais is the closest geographical point to the UK in mainland Europe. It is a significant trade hub, with millions of tons of goods passing through each day, to and from Great Britain, by truck, train, and ship. This increases the potential for migrants to stow away on vehicles passing through, as well as the economic costs of the disruption that they cause. Migrants in the area who want to reach the UK do so for a number of reasons. For instance, some prefer the UK to other European countries due to greater economic growth (thus making them economic migrants), and the relative ease of finding illegal undocumented work,Migrant squalor in Calais 'jungle'.
Emma-Jane Kirby, BBC News, 2 July 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
Calais mayor threatens to block port if UK fails to help deal with migrants.
Natacha Bouchart, ''The Guardian'', 3 September 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
the latter being due to the application of
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
preventing the checking of migrants' identification in some situations.'At night it's like a horror movie' – inside Calais's official shantytown.
Angelique Chrisafis, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 6 April 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
Aribaud and Vignon,
Rapport à monsieur le ministre de l'intérieur sur la situation des migrants dans le Calaisis
(2015). Ministère de l'intérieur
The UK is also a desirable destination because English is a widely known language, and because it is easier to reach than other English speaking destinations such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Still others have a family connection with the UK.Bowden,
Why Do Calais Migrants Want To Come To Britain? And Why Don't Refugees Stay In France?
(24/10/16) in HuffPost
Some migrants in the area have paid
smugglers Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
- sometimes thousands of pounds - to help them on their journey and/or to help them attempt to reach the UK. Migrants risk their lives when they try to climb aboard or travel on vehicles, occasionally falling off and injuring themselves or dying. Not every migrant in Calais is trying to get to the UK, however: some are seeking asylum in France but are homeless because the French system does not provide for them while their claim is being processed.Francesca Ansaloni, 'Deterritorialising the Jungle: Understanding the Calais camp through its orderings' in ''Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space'' (25/02/20) doi.org/10.1177/2399654420908597


Conditions

Apart from the camp in
Sangatte Sangatte (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel. The name is of Flemish origin, meaning hole or gap in the sand. Engineering Sangatte i ...
(closed 2002) and the one in Grande-Synthe during the mayoral administration of Damien Carême, the camps are informal and have appeared in various locations along the northern coast since the 1990s. Since the
demolition Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction (building), deconstruction, which inv ...
of the large Jungle camp in 2016 there has been an administrative policy of "no fixation points" for migrants to settle in, aiming to stop another large camp from forming.
France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...
,
Calais : Collomb ne veut pas de "point de fixation" pour les migrants
(23/06/17)
Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
, including the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS), and clearance teams regularly evict migrants from their makeshift camps, but new encampments later form there or elsewhere.I. Bourke,
"A matter of political will": There's no end in sight for the refugee crisis in Calais
(16/12/17) in
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
M. Bulman,
The lost childhoods on Britain's doorstep: How growing number of families are waiting in tents to attempt dangerous Channel crossing
(01/12/18) on ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''
M. Bulman,
Calais camp evictions fuelling rise in Channel crossings as situation reaches tipping point, say charities
(11/09/19) in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''
Jenowein, Whitaker, Lindner,
Forced Evictions in Calais and Grande-Synthe: 1 August 2018-1 June 2019
' (2019). Human Rights Observers
The encampments are dangerous due to exposure and poor living conditions resulting in health difficulties.Dhesi, Isakjee, Davies,
An Environmental Health Assessment of the New Migrant Camp in Calais
' (2015). University of Birmingham
Bouhenia et al.,
Quantitative survey on health and violence endured by refugees during their journey and in Calais, France
in ''Int. Health'' (2017)
Dhesi, Isakjee, Davies,
Public health in the Calais refugee camp: environment, health and exclusion
in ''Critical Public Health'' (2017)
A. Rawsome,
From periods to pregnancy – the sexual health crisis for Calais refugees
(26/02/18) in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''
Authorities create a hostile environment;Edmond-Pettitt,
Territorial Policing and the 'hostile environment' in Calais: from policy to practice
(2018) in ''Justice, Power and Resistance''
migrants and
non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
s (NGOs) report police violence directed at migrantsA. Mohdin,
Calais clamps down as asylum seekers say: 'They just beat us'
(18/09/19) in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''
Garcia Bochenek,
"Like Living in Hell": Police Abuses Against Child and Adult Migrants in Calais
' (2017).
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
E. Vigny,
Calais: the police harassment of volunteers
' (2018). L'Auberge des Migrants
and the local administration occasionally bans the distribution of food and water. Amelia Gentleman,
Calais mayor bans distribution of food to migrants
(02/03/17) in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''
P. Charrier,
À Calais, des associations dénoncent un arrêté municipal « stigmatisant » envers les migrants
(01/11/19) in '' La Croix''


Reactions


Legal framework


Treaties

The laws for processing of migrants and management of the situation are set by bilateral agreements between the UK and France relating to the Channel Tunnel. Bilateral agreements include the 1991 Sangatte Protocol regarding border controls in Coquelles and
Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
, which was later supplemented by the 2003 Touquet Treaty, which increased the powers of the
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
at the
border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
, and defines the obligations of the UK and France to accept
refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
s.


French rule of law

When the French justice system determines that a person is in France illegally, an (OQTF) - an order to leave France or be deported to a country of origin - can be issued. This is defined in the Code of Entry and Residence of Foreigners and of the Right to Asylum). However, many of the camps' inhabitants lack identification and even a legal identity in their countries of origin, as is the case with many people of
Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...
n,
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
n, and
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
ese nationality. For a person in this situation, an OQTF cannot be issued, either because it is unclear to what country the person should be deported, or because neither their countries of origin nor other countries in the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...
will accept them.


Security measures

Britain and France operate a system of juxtaposed controls on
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
and
customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...
, whereby border checks take place prior to boarding, so once stowaways are in a vehicle in the tunnel, they are able to enter the UK without further checks. To discourage vehicle operators from facilitating this, lorry drivers are fined £2,000 per stowaway, if a migrant is discovered in their vehicle. On 20 August 2015,
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
, who was then UK Home Secretary, arrived in Calais with Bernard Cazeneuve, the French Minister of the Interior, to confirm a new agreement to address the situation. The agreement invested £7 million in new security measures, including basing British police officers in a new control centre in Calais that regularly reported to May and Cazeneuve regarding immigration-related criminal activities on both sides of the Channel. The port of Calais is protected by 5-meter tall
fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or net (textile), netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its ...
s topped with coils of razor wire and surveillance cameras. Additional fencing is being constructed along the motorway leading to the port. The UK is investing £3 million in heartbeat and carbon dioxide detectors, and dog searches, for UK-bound lorries in France.
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
, the
President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...
, has called for the situation to be addressed through more security at the periphery of the European Union to prevent people from entering the EU irregularly.


Other political reactions

In August 2015, Vincent Cochetel, the director for Europe at the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...
, described the crisis as a "civil emergency". Later that month,
Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician who has served as Home Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, Cooper has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliament (MP) for Po ...
, the UK
Shadow Home Secretary In British politics, the shadow home secretary (formally known as the shadow secretary of state for the home department) is the person within the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (UK), shadow cabinet who shadows the home secretary; this effecti ...
, said that the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
had to intervene in the crisis in order to stop the French government from allowing people to try to enter the UK illegally, and on 20 August,
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
, then the UK
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
, expressed concern that the crisis could spread to other
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...
s, such as Dunkirk. In 2015,
Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
, at the time leader of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), called for the
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
to search incoming vehicles to address a "lawless, scary" situation.


Public reactions


Solidarity

Members of the publicGerbier-Aublanc,
Humanitarian improvisation: potential and limitations of citizen solidarity in the migrant camps in Calais and Paris
(2018). French Red Cross Foundation
and
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
organisations have supported migrants around Calais. Some Calasians host migrants in their homes or join together to support migrants with food and material aid. People from outside France have also migrated to Calais to support those living rough. No Borders activists have also supported migrants around Calais. The number of people who have helped migrants in Calais is in the thousands.Doidge, Sandri, ''Friends that last a lifetime: the importance of emotions amongst volunteers working with refugees in Calais'' (2018). '' British Journal of Sociology''


Calais blockade

On 5 September 2016,
truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...
s, local farmers, and
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
ists, protesting against "wilful destruction" by migrants residing in the camps, slowed traffic entering the port of Calais, demanding the closure of the Jungle.


History


Sangatte migrants camp (1999–2002)

In the late 1990s growing numbers of migrants, including
women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...
and
children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...
, were sleeping in the streets of Calais and surrounding towns. Most were hoping to enter the UK, either through the Channel Tunnel under, or by the P&O Ferries over the English Channel.'Sangatte refugee camp'
''The Guardian'', 23 May 2002. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
In 1999, at the request of the
French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...
, the French Red Cross opened a
refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...
in
Sangatte Sangatte (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel. The name is of Flemish origin, meaning hole or gap in the sand. Engineering Sangatte i ...
in a giant
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
about from the entrance to the Channel Tunnel. Sangatte was planned to house 600 people, but by 2002 it held 2,000."At night it's like a horror movie" – inside Calais's official shantytown
''The Guardian'', 6 April 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
living in squalid conditions. Tensions between
ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
s in Sangatte for the best places from which to board trains at the Fréthun EuroTunnel rail freight terminal grew, as it was from Calais. In 2001, EuroTunnel called on France to shut the camp, stating that they were stopping 200 refugees each night, mostly from Sangatte, who aimed to smuggle themselves into Britain. On Christmas Day 2001, a large group of people broke through all security barriers, and 500 of them stormed the Channel Tunnel. By 2002, the Eurotunnel company had spent £6 million (€8 million) on security measures around the terminal site, such as fences, razor wire, cameras, and
security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, factory guard, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) ...
s patrolling daily. On 3 December 2002, the French Minister of the Interior, Nicolas Sarkozy, announced that the camp at Sangatte would be closed on 30 December 2002. In exchange, the British government would accept 1,000 Kurdish refugees and some 250 Afghans—80% of the migrants in Sangate—who would all receive a
work permit A work permit or work visa is the permission to take a job within a foreign country. The foreign country where someone seeks to obtain a work permit for is also known as the "country of work", as opposed to the "country of origin" where someone ho ...
for three months.'Sangatte : fermeture anticipée' (S.: advanced closure)
Radio France Internationale, 3 December 2002. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
The remaining people received a residence permit in France.'Sangatte : fermeture anticipée' (S.: advanced closure)
Radio France Internationale, 3 December 2002. Retrieved 27 June 2015.


Various 'jungle' camps (2002–2014)

Since 2002, migrants in Calais slept in squats,
slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...
s and outdoor camps known as "jungles" that were repeatedly raided or bulldozed by police before cropping up elsewhere, and they ate from charity soup kitchens. Migrants caught during an attempt to hide aboard a lorry would be taken to the police station, where they would receive a warning and be released. In 2009, the UN Refugee Agency set up a permanent office in Calais to offer asylum advice to migrants. In April 2009, the police raided and bulldozed a camp and arrested 190 migrants. This camp, in the woods around Calais, was reestablished, with tents made out of metal grilles and plastic sheeting and wooden shelters, housing 700–800 mainly Afghan migrants. It was unsanitary. It was raided again in September 2009, and 276 protesting migrants were arrested and put on buses. Bulldozers were expected to destroy their shelters later that day. The jungle inhabitants were partly imprisoned at the nearby ''Centre de Rétention'' of Coquelles; many more were taken to detention centres all over France before being released and making the journey back to Calais by foot. After the closing of this camp, the French authorities threatened to repatriate ''"sans-papiers"'' (''"immigrés en situation irrégulière"'') to
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. In July 2014, the French police once again expelled migrants from a camp in Calais.


Rushes on Channel ferries (2014)

By September 2014, some 1,200 to 1,500 migrants,'Calais mayor threatens to block port if UK fails to help deal with migrants'
''The Guardian'', 3 September 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
mainly Eritreans, Sudanese, Afghans,
Somalis The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...
and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
ns, lived in makeshift camps or disused buildings'Tear gas fired at UK-bound migrants during riots at Calais camp'
''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
'', 17 September 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
in Calais and made regular attempts to hide in lorries bound to cross the Channel to Britain.'Calais Migrants Caught On Video Rushing Ferry'
''
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
'', 4 September 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
On 4 September, at the P&O Ferry docks of Calais, 100 migrants forced open a gate, climbed over fences and tried to storm onto a ferry to Britain. One ship's crew used their fire hoses to prevent them from boarding. Days later, 250 migrants tried to storm into vehicles at a lorry park that were about to cross to the UK; the police scattered them with
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...
.'Calais migrants 'becoming more violent' in attempts to reach Britain'
''The Telegraph'', 12 September 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
On 17 September 250 migrants, after tearing down fences and cutting wire, rushed lorries queuing to board ferries; police used tear gas and baton charges to chase them away. After those incidents, the
British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
promised to contribute up to £12 million (€14 million) to the French to help prevent people from crossing the Channel to Britain illegally.''Tear Gas Fired At Calais Migrants''
''
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
'', 20 October 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
By October, the number of migrants at Calais was 1,500. In mid-October, 350 migrants again tried to climb aboard trucks at Calais in an attempt to reach Britain; the riot police (CRS) used tear gas to disperse them.


Jules Ferry day centre and 'new jungle' camp (2015–2016)

In January 2015, the French government opened the Jules Ferry day centre for migrants in a former children's holiday camp on the outskirts of Calais.'Calais opens first migrant camp since Sangatte closed'
''The Telegraph'', 15 January 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
It was intended to provide overnight accommodation for 50 women and children (but not to men),''
NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis NRC. It is widely regarded as a newspaper of record in the country. History was first published on 1 October 1970 after a merger of the Amst ...
'', 20 June 2015.
one hot meal per day and daytime showers and toilets (to everyone including men), and mobile phone charging. By April 2015, over 1,000 men were sleeping rough next to the centre on wasteland and a
shanty town A shanty town, squatter area, squatter settlement, or squatter camp is a settlement of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks, typically made of materials such as mud and wood, or from cheap building materials such as corrugated iron s ...
emerged that became called "the new jungle" - and later simply the Jungle.
Charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...
workers said that 100 people in the "new jungle" had already claimed asylum in France but still had no accommodation. A camp has also sprung up in Dunkirk, around 40 km from Calais. Most of the migrants were Kurdish Iraqis. In early June 2015, the police dismantled some smaller encampments in Calais. By mid-June, the
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
of Calais estimated 3,000 migrants to be living in encampments.''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'', 18 June 2015.
As of November 2015, there were an estimated 6,000 migrants living in the camp. According to the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...
, ten people had died trying to cross the Channel Tunnel since the start of June 2015. As of October 2016, just prior to its dismantling, 'Help Refugees' put the number in the camp at 8,143. Starting on 24 October 2016, the French government planned to evacuate 6,400 migrants from the encampment in 170 buses with the intent of resettling the migrants in different
regions of France France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collectivities, which ha ...
. On 26 October 2016, French authorities announced that the camp had been cleared of all migrants.


Truck driver attacks (2015–present)

Since the start of the
European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...
, truck drivers heading for the UK have been threatened and attacked by people trying to reach the UK. In December 2015, 13 trucks were hit with stones, with people trying to jump into trucks from motorway
overpass An overpass, called an overbridge or flyover (for a road only) in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries, is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that is over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and '' underpa ...
es. In March 2016, a truck driver was
assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...
ed, sustaining minor injuries, while his truck was also damaged. In August 2016, a driver was threatened with a
chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable handheld power saw, power saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. Modern chainsaws are typically gasoline or electric and are used in activities such as t ...
by those wishing to board trucks to the UK. Truck drivers have also violently confronted people found stowed away in their trucks, and one Hungarian truck driver filmed how he directed his truck towards a group of people that hurled rocks at his truck, only to swerve away from them as part of an
intimidation Intimidation is a behaviour and legal wrong which usually involves deterring or coercing an individual by threat of violence. It is in various jurisdictions a crime and a civil wrong (tort). Intimidation is similar to menacing, coercion, terro ...
tactic. The first death was recorded on 20 June 2017, when people trying to reach the UK stopped a lorry on the A16 autoroute with a tree trunk, in order to stowaway in the cargo area. A van registered in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
hit the lorry and burst into fire, killing the van driver. Nine people from
Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...
were arrested in connection with the incident. In July 2017 a lorry driver was repeatedly beaten over the head with a brick after stepping out of the cab to confront a group of migrants attempting to stow away in his trailer. After leaving the driver bloodied and unconscious on the side of the road, the migrants hijacked the lorry and attempted to drive it towards the port before being apprehended several miles away.


Calais blockade

The Calais blockade was a 2016 protest in France in response to the Calais Jungle. Lorry drivers and farmers used their vehicles on the A16 motorway to slow down entry to the Port of Calais. The camp had become the focal point of France's migrant crisis, with about 7,000 people, mainly from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa, living there. The protest also attracted a number of local trade unions and Calais protestors. The protest calls for the closure and removal of the camp. The president of the Association of Calais Traders said "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." This protest marks the first time the Association of Calais Traders has taken a physical approach to protesting the migrant camp.


Since the demolition of the Jungle (2016-present)

Since the demolition of the large Jungle camp in 2016 there has been an administrative policy of "no fixation points" for migrants to settle in, aiming to stop another large camp from forming. Police, including the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS), and clearance teams regularly evict migrants from their makeshift camps with new encampments later forming in another or the same location. The encampments are dangerous due to exposure and poor living conditions resulting in health difficulties. A hostile environment is created for the migrants, with migrants and NGOs reporting violence from the police directed at migrants and the local administration occasionally banning the distribution of food and water to migrants.


Tension between migrant groups (2018)

On 1 February 2018, fighting broke out between a group of Afghan and
Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...
n migrants in the French port city of
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
. The fighting left five people with gunshot wounds and another 17 with other injuries, including stab wounds. Local officials and police believed that a 37-year-old Afghan man was responsible for the shootings. Several separate incidents occurred during the afternoon of that day following unrest between the two groups at a food distribution point. The incidents unfolded individually at the city outskirts, an industrial site and near the location of the old Jungle camp.


Migrant sites in France outside Calais

Other smaller migrant sites exist in France outside Calais. The Association Terre d'Errance estimates that eleven camps exist in the northern part of the country.Philip Kleinfeld (31 August 2015
France: Where refugees go to avoid 'the jungle'
Al Jazeera.
The largest of these is the Grande-Synthe site near
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
. On that site, in the first and older camp of Basroch refugee camp, migrants (mostly Iraqi Kurdish families) lived under deplorable conditions on a boggy wasteland site, without adequate sanitation facilities or shelter. The camp was cited as being worse than Calais.
Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician who has served as Home Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, Cooper has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliament (MP) for Po ...

The most shocking thing about Calais is that it's not even too big to solve
''The Guardian'' (7 January 2016).
Henry Samuel

''The Daily Telegraph'' (7 March 2016).
In March 2016, as demolition work was taking place at the Jungle site in Calais, a new camp called La Liniere refugee camp was developed at the Grande-Synthe site - "France's first ever refugee camp to meet international humanitarian standards." It opened with 200 of 375 projected cabins already built by Medecins Sans Frontieres. A total capacity of 2,500 people was expected. Traffickers sexually abused migrants, both women and children, by raping them in exchange for blankets, food or opportunity to get to the UK. Other than Calais and Grande-Synthe, encampments were reported to exist in 2015 in Paris,
Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...
,
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
and
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
.


See also

* Channel Tunnel, § Asylum and immigration * Asylum shopping *
Modern immigration to the United Kingdom Since 1945, immigration to the United Kingdom, controlled by British immigration law and to an extent by British nationality law, has been significant, in particular from the former territories of the British Empire and the European Union. ...
** Illegal immigration in the United Kingdom * La Liniere refugee camp * Basroch refugee camp * Calais Jungle * France–UK border


References


External links


France-UK Border Research
A library of research and primary sources regarding the situation for displaced people at the France-UK border {{DEFAULTSORT:Calais migrant crisis (1999-present) Illegal immigration to the United Kingdom Illegal immigration to France Migrant crisis 2000s in France 2010s in France 2000s in the United Kingdom 2010s in the United Kingdom Channel Tunnel 1999 in England France–United Kingdom relations Squats in France Squatting in France