France has called on Britain to “share” more of the policing and financial “burden” caused by the pile-up of illegal immigrants in Calais, reports The Independent.
The French interior minister, Manuel Valls, said that he had invited the Home Secretary Theresa May to meet him in Calais in the New Year to discuss a “renegotiation” of the Anglo-French agreement which led to the closure of the Sangatte refugee camp in December 2002.
Speaking at a press conference in Calais, Mr Valls said the agreement had succeeded in reducing the flow of migrants and asylum seekers trying to reach Britain through the French port. But he said that the current situation - with between 300 and 500 migrants living rough in the Calais area - was an “impasse”.
“Our British friends must take more account of the burden, the weight placed on France by the Calais migrant problem", he said.
Read more of this report from The Independent.