President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that France would not allow another migrant camp like the infamous “Jungle” to spring up in the port of Calais, reports FRANCE 24.
“In no case will we allow another Jungle here,” he said in a speech in the northern town, as his government puts pressure on Britain to contribute more to dealing with migrants seeking to cross the Channel.
“Everything is being done to prevent illegal crossings,” Macron said, saying Calais must not be used as a “back door” to Britain.
The government of Macron’s socialist predecessor François Hollande dismantled the Jungle – a squalid camp that at its height was home to some 10,000 people – in October 2016.
But hundreds of people continue to camp out in Calais, hoping to stow away on trucks heading to Britain, a destination seen as an El Dorado by some migrants from Afghanistan and East Africa.
Macron declared that staying in Calais instead of applying for asylum in France is "a dead end" and vowed not to allow any migrant camp to take root after authorities dismantled Europe's biggest migrant slum, on the edge of Calais, in 2016.
Macron wants to change a 2003 border control agreement that allows British officials to help carry out checks in Calais, effectively moving the British border to the French port. The deal has spared Britain from receiving floods of migrants at its doorstep like other European countries, putting the burden of blocking their entry to the UK on France.
The French president is set to meet British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday in Sandhurst near London to discuss the issue.
Macron said the three points he plans to raise with May include "better management of the issue of unaccompanied minors, reinforced police cooperation in Calais and with the countries of origin and transit" and getting British funds for development projects in Calais.
The former French tourist destination has long suffered because of the influx of migrants there.
After reports of heavy-handed policing of the migrants who remain in Calais, Macron said police had to be “exemplary” in their treatment of people who have fled war and poverty in search of a better life.
Speaking in the gendarmerie headquarters, Macron denounced the use of tear gas and physical violence against migrants, as well as reports that migrants have had their property confiscated.