UK officials have said work will begin later this month on a wall in the northern French city. France and Britain have agreed a tougher response to the migrant crisis in Calais is necessary.
Image: Reuters/P. Rossignol
Advertisement
British Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill told a UK parliamentary committee that security was being tightened in Calais following several dangerous incidents involving migrants.
"We are going to start building this big new wall as part off the 17 million pound (20 million euros) package that we are doing with the French ... We've done the fence and now we're doing the wall," he added.
"People are still getting through," Goodwill said. "We have done the fences. Now we are doing the wall."
A 4-meter high (13-foot), 1-kilometer long (0.6-mile) wall will be build along the approach road to the French port city to try to prevent migrants jumping aboard trucks bound for Britain, he said.
Growing migrant numbers
The announcement came after French statistics revealed the number of migrants living around Calais has grown to around 7,000 after an influx in the summer.
The migrants, fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, stay in several temporary camps known as "jungles," which France has begun to dismantle in the city.
The migrants often create roadblocks to slow down trucks and then clamber into the trailers as stowaways on the Britain-bound trucks.
Last year, migrants scaled security fences and climbed onto the Channel Tunnel rail tracks.
Eleven migrants have died this year, seven on the highways, according to the aid group Auberge des Migrants.
The new wall will be built as part of an UK-France deal, worth 20 million euros, agreed in March.
The two countries have signed several treaties that have effectively moved the British frontier onto mainland France, where UK Border Control members staff immigration checkpoints at the Channel Tunnel and ferry terminals.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Charlet
Reports suggest the wall will be made of smooth concrete that will make it harder to climb, but lined with plants to minimize the visual impact.
Reuters news agency reported that shrubbery has already been cleared on one side of the Rocade road but there was no sign of workers or machinery at the site on Wednesday.
A local official told Reuters the project would be completed by the end of the year.
'Waste of money'
A British truckers' group warned the wall was a poor use of money. Road Haulage Association chief executive Richard Burnett said the funds "would be much better spent on increasing security along the approach roads."
France dismantled the southern half of the "Jungle" camp in February and March, and the government said last week it would shut down the rest but gave no timeframe.
Meanwhile, France confirmed on Wednesday that its first migrant camp in Paris will open next month. Hundreds of refugees have been sleeping rough on the streets of the French capital.
Clashes break out as Calais migrant 'Jungle' dismantling begins
Police used tear gas to disperse dozens of migrants who lined up to prevent them pulling down the makeshift camp. Hundreds of tents and temporary shelters were torn down.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Valat
Migrants ready for confrontation
Dozens of migrants and activists faced off with French riot police at the Calais migrant "Jungle" on Monday, as workers began bulldozing the shantytown. Around 4,000 migrants - many of them from Syria and Iraq - have made the camp home and other sites around the town, as they attempt to reach Britain and apply for asylum or live illegally.
Image: Reuters/P. Rossignol
Temporary homes set ablaze
At least three makeshift shelters were set ablaze by migrants and activists to disrupt a French government order to pull down around a third of the camp, which sits on the outskirts of the northern French port town of Calais. Rows and rows of tents, caravans and wooden structures stretch for approximately 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles).
Image: Reuters/P. Rossignol
Tear gas used as bulldozing begins
Clashes broke out between several migrants and police who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse those blocking their work. Two people were arrested during the scuffles. On Monday, French authorities brought dozens of riot police, after being threatened by activists on Friday when they first tried to partially tear down the site.
Image: Reuters/P. Rossignol
Water cannon helps disperse dozens of migrants
Police used water cannon to help disperse dozens of people who refused to leave the camp. French authorities said the migrants were given ample notice to quit and that many of the tents and wooden structures had already been abandoned.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Huguen
Many migrants are determined to stay
One migrant threatened to slash his wrist as police tried to evict him from the camp, which is bult on the site of a former toxic waste dump on the outskirts of Calais. A whole city has sprung up over the past year, complete with church, mosque, school and medical facilities.
Image: Reuters/P. Rossignol
Partial destruction of the 'Jungle' begins
Police and construction workers have been given permission to dismantle the southern end of the migrant camp. Two bulldozers and around two dozen workers moved in on Monday to start pulling down the shacks. But a judge in the French city of Lille insisted that many of the vital community facilities on site remain untouched.
Image: Reuters/P. Rossignol
'Jungle' conditions worsened over winter
Despite the best efforts of charities and church groups, conditions in the camp have deteriorated over the past few months. French authorities have encouraged migrants to move to better facilities in Calais itself or to apply for asylum in France and move to another city.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D.Charlet
'Warmer, safer' alternative housing offered
A fully-heated accommodation center, made of shipping containers, has been put up close to existing camp to house up to 1,500 migrants. But many people have complained about a lack of communal spaces and that their movement is restricted.
Image: DW/L. Scholtyssyk
Home to those escaping war and hunger
The Calais 'Jungle' has regularly hit the headlines despite playing just a tiny role in the current European migrant crisis. Compare its 4,000 inhabitants to events on the Greek-Macedonian border, where in just a few days, approximately 22,000 refugees have become stuck, due to border entry restrictions.
Image: Reuters/P. Rossignol
Desired destination...Britain
Most of the migrants have traveled to Calais because they want to reach Britain. Ever day, dozens attempt to climb onto trains or into the back of lorries, travelling through the Eurotunnel or by ferry to Dover, in England. Last summer, hundreds of migrants tried to scale security fences and enter the rail-only tunnel that links the UK and France.
