French migrant camp re-examined


Hundreds of migrants hoping to enter the UK are camped near Calais

France's immigration minister is to visit Calais as concerns grow that calls for asylum seeker facilities will attract more migrants to the town.

A Red Cross centre in nearby Sangatte was seen as a springboard for thousands of migrants to head for the UK.

After it closed in 2002, the number of illegal immigrants detected entering Kent from Calais fell by 88%.

Aid agencies say migrants gathering in the port should be given better shelter and are calling for a new centre.

BBC Europe correspondent Chris Mason said ministers at Westminster are likely to be watching closely because there could be significant implications for the UK if French policy changes.

But France's Immigration Minister Eric Besson told a French newspaper that another Sangatte was "out of the question".

'Humanitarian case'

The numbers of illegal immigrants to the UK have fallen from more than 10,000 in 2002, to 1,500 four years later.

To reopen such a centre would create a powerful invitation to new networks of illegal immigration
France's Immigration Minister Eric Besson

But since Sangatte's closure, migrants have had no where official to stay in the town and aid agencies say there is a strong humanitarian case for providing them with shelter.

Mr Besson is due to meet the Mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, and representatives of migrants' welfare organisations, later.

He will visit the port, the embarkation platforms for heavy goods vehicles travelling on the Eurotunnel freight shuttles.

Speaking to La Voix Du Nord newspaper, he said: "To reopen such a centre would create a powerful invitation to new networks of illegal immigration.
"It would not be a solution to the humanitarian problem. It would be an extra humanitarian problem."

Mr Besson said he planned to work with the British government on a common strategy "to reinforce controls and make the passage by the (Channel) Tunnel or port as difficult as possible for illegal immigrants".
"Our British partners must commit themselves more actively in the reinforcement of checks and security at Calais," he added.





[Channel 4 News] Protecting Britain's borders?


Channel 4 News' Katie Brown spends one ordinary night with Britain's immigration service - grappling with an extraordinary global problem.

Crucial to the success of the Immigration Service strategy is the area around Calais. It's Britain's closest foreign sea port and it was here that the Sangatte camp - which provided shelter for aspiring migrants - was a thorn in the flesh of British governments for years.

The Red Cross set up the camp outside Calais, in September 1999. A cause of Anglo-French tension, Sangatte was eventually closed down by the French government in November 2002.

During those three years, the Red Cross estimates that 60,000 people passed through the camp.

The Home Office says the numbers entering Britain illegally from Calais each year have fallen from 10,000 to 1,500 since then.

But thousands of would-be migrants are still there, camped out in fields, woods and derelict buildings around the EuroTunnel terminal. Charities say the number trying to get into Britain from that area is at its highest level ever.