"This is very testing, I accept that, because you have got a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain because Britain has got jobs, it's got a growing economy, it's an incredible place to live," Cameron told ITV television during a visit to Vietnam.
Around 3,000 people from countries including Syria and Eritrea are camping out in the northern French port of Calais and trying to cross into Britain illegally by clambering on board lorries and trains.
The controversy has flared up to dominate British media this week as holidaymakers and truck drivers are blocked on the British side due to delays caused by the migrants' actions.
- Acting leader of the main opposition Labour party Harriet Harman said Cameron should "remember he is talking about people, not insects".
And Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which wants strict controls on immigration, said he would not use similar words.
"The prime minister is this morning trying to sound tough. Whether he actually means it or not is quite a separate question," Farage told BBC radio.
Cameron is facing calls from tabloid newspapers to deploy the British army to resolve the situation but insists the correct way to tackle it is by working alongside the authorities in France.
"We need to protect our borders by working hand in glove with our neighbors the French and that is exactly what we are doing," he told ITV.
Home Secretary Theresa May on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the government's emergency committee COBRA and the government has pledged £7 million (10 million euros, $11 million) to improve fencing around the Eurotunnel rail terminal at Coquelles, northern France.
Keith Vaz, a lawmaker and head of parliament's home affairs committee, called for a meeting between Cameron and French President Francois Hollande but said that the problem had to be dealt with at an European Union level.
"I think the focus is all wrong here. Once people make it to Calais, it's almost too late. The problem lies fundamentally with the failure of the EU to deal with the migrants crisis in Italy and Greece," he said.
AFP
dailystar.com.lb
30/7/15
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French police stop over 1,000 migrants from reaching Channel Tunnel ...
ReplyDeleteFrench authorities faced more than 1,000 attempts by migrants camped out in the port of Calais to reach the Channel tunnel overnight, police sources told AFP Friday.
"More than 1,000 attempts were thwarted last night, with around 30 arrests," the source said, adding there were no reports of migrants injured in their bid to enter the undersea tunnel linking France and Britain.
Another police source spoke spoke of "1,400 incursions" between 10:00pm local time Thursday (2000 GMT) and 7:00am (0500 GMT) Friday.
While being unable to confirm the figures, a spokesman for Eurotunnel said there had been "much less disruption" since an extra 120 riot police poured into Calais this week to bolster the 300-strong police contingent already stationed in the city.
At least four coaches of riot police were on Friday morning guarding the entrance to the tunnel, where the situation was calm.
A police source said that, while the reinforcements had helped, "the pressure of the migrants is still there" and the "situation remains difficult to deal with."
However, this source said there had been far fewer migrants managing to get onto the Eurotunnel platforms and clamber on the train shuttles going to England..............http://www.france24.com/en/20150731-france-migrants-1000-channel-tunnel
31/7/15
Malgré les contrôles, des migrants parviendraient à traverser le tunnel sous la Manche...
ReplyDeleteL’image a été prise dans la nuit du 30 au 31 juillet. On distingue quelques camions passant au-dessus des voies ferrées à l’arrivée du terminal de Folkstone, au Royaume-Uni, à quelques centaines de mètres de la sortie du tunnel qui permet à de nombreux poids lourds de traverser la Manche.
Et sur le toit de l’un d’eux, deux silhouettes : il s’agirait de deux migrants qui auraient réussi à entrer au Royaume-Uni, couchés sur le poids lourd.
« C’est la première fois que je vois des migrants à la sortie du tunnel », rapporte au Monde Justin Tallis, photojournaliste de l’AFP, qui a réalisé le cliché, en précisant cependant qu’il n’avait pas vu précisément les migrants sortir du tunnel sur le toit du camion.
« Si quelqu’un veut aller quelque part, rien ne l’en empêchera ».............http://www.lemonde.fr/immigration-et-diversite/article/2015/07/31/malgre-le-renforcement-des-controles-des-migrants-parviendraient-a-traverser-le-tunnel-sous-la-manche_4706431_1654200.html#xtor=RSS-3208
31/7/15