2,100 migrants try to storm Eurotunnel site in Calais

[webfact]

2,100 migrants try to storm Eurotunnel site in French port
ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — About 2,100 migrants tried to storm the area surrounding the Eurotunnel early Tuesday before being repelled by police, an official in the northern French port of Calais said.

The official, who spoke on condition she not be named because she wasn't authorized to speak publicly, said police arrested 200 of the migrants. She said it was the largest such attempt by migrants to enter the site.

Calais is a key port for sea and land crossings to Britain. In recent months, thousands of migrants from Eritrea, Sudan and beyond have camped out around the city, and some try to sneak across the English Channel by getting onboard trucks and freight trains.

The encampments have soured relations between Britain and France, which blame each other for failing to cope with the crisis.

On Tuesday, British Home Secretary Theresa May announced that her government has agreed to provide an extra 7 million pounds ($10.8 million) to boost security at the Channel Tunnel railhead in Coquelles.

May disclosed the extra funding following a meeting between British and French officials.

"We've had a very constructive meeting," she said. "The French and U.K. governments are working in close collaboration and cooperation on this issue which affects us both."

Last week, the company that operates the Eurotunnel asked France and Britain to kick in 9.7 million euros ($10.6 million) to cope with an influx of migrants in Calais. Britain has also said it's creating a "secure zone" in Calais for British-bound trucks to tackle the problem of migrants stowing away in the vehicles.

Spokespeople for Eurotunnel and the police weren't immediately available for comment.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-29

[ABCer]

So they have the money to boost security of the tunnel.

Why not use this money to round up those poor unfortunate immigrants and ship them back?

According to OP they are not in hiding but camping outside Caleis.

Arrested 200 out of 2,100? More troubles to come.

[Loptr]

So they have the money to boost security of the tunnel.

Why not use this money to round up those poor unfortunate immigrants and ship them back?

According to OP they are not in hiding but camping outside Caleis.

Arrested 200 out of 2,100? More troubles to come.

Because according to the UN that would be inhumane...

Ain't it grand that unelected bureaucrats can dictate immigration policies...

[worgeordie]

They are already in Europe ,but they are risking life and limb to

get into UK,which must be because of the benefits they can get

in UK, compared to France.its a good job that UK is an island or

it would be over run with immigrants,(even more than at moment,

which is too many)

regards worgeordie

[metisdead]

An off topic nonsense post has been removed as well as a reply.

[NeverSure]

John Lennon. "Imagine". Well, stop imagining, it's happening.

[Lissos]

Anyone who has watched the fly on the wall documentaries following the staff in this area will have found two things. One, the migrants see the whole exercise of sneaking in as a funny game. Not once did I see them distressed or looking afraid or any such thing. It was all beaming smiles and - "ah shucks, I would'a gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those pesky kids and their sniffer dog". Two, because on being softly calmly coaxed out of hiding like a kitten hiding under a bed, they were given a cup of tea (I'm not joking) by Female staff chosen to be compassionate to their aims.

None carry passports intentionally because they know that if they do it can actually mean incarceration and possible deportation. So,they are simply turned around and let loose to go back to their launching spot and try again the next day. Utterly absurd. It is time for our nations to show some backbone and 'deter' them strongly. We're too bloody 'nice' for our own good and our 'understanding' and 'western guilt for being born western' is being used against us. I fully understand why migrants want to do it, but understanding it does not mean we should either encourage it by being softy softy like we do, or resign ourselves to the inevitable like we do.

Where the hell is our leadership in the west? We have career politicians who are intimidated into inaction out of fear of how we look on the "world stage". It is all about 'Brand Britain', above all else. We're seeing floods because they know there is a sentiment to pull up the drawbridge, and they want in for a share in the remaining crumbs of the pie that we have left.

I insist 'our' people's welfare is tended to first above all else, before taking on 1000s of new people from the third world who are not going to find streets paved with Gold in Britain, no complimentary job to walk into, no complimentary housing and a car, and we'll only end up with shanty homes in our few forests, complete with all the trash and filth seen in Calais.

edit : correcting spelling.

Edited July 29, 2015 by Lissos

[LALes]

Barbarians at the gates.

[RickBradford]

Here's one guy talking sense about immigration in Europe, and being attacked from all sides as a danger to mankind, a killer, and everything else they can think of.

Video is 25 minutes long

[ABCer]

So they have the money to boost security of the tunnel.

Why not use this money to round up those poor unfortunate immigrants and ship them back?

According to OP they are not in hiding but camping outside Caleis.

Arrested 200 out of 2,100? More troubles to come.

Because according to the UN that would be inhumane...

Ain't it grand that unelected bureaucrats can dictate immigration policies...

It's a long time since on many occasions I stated my views on current UN.

It outlived its significance.

It has no real power or economic base.

Its ideas have been hijacked by numerous 'members' from the stone age.

If I am raining on somebody's parade - I do not apologise.

[micmichd]

Time to start shooting

or nuke the Euro tunnel, it's obsolete anyway when UK leaves EU.

[ABCer]

Here's one guy talking sense about immigration in Europe, and being attacked from all sides as a danger to mankind, a killer, and everything else they can think of.

Video is 25 minutes long

A very interesting video. G. Wilders is reasonable but alone. His opposition is too numerous and unreasonable. The funny part is they accuse him in being 'populist' while asking emotionally charged questions.

G. Wilders position is indefensible in current political climate of Europe. Besides, he is addressing the problem of new refugees to come. He is completely without a solution for refugees already living in Europe.

Another funny part is listening to opposition referring to their country as 'rich'. Not with so many unproductive dependants!

I am afraid Europe is done in. 'Ippon' to Islam!

[samran]

So they have the money to boost security of the tunnel.

Why not use this money to round up those poor unfortunate immigrants and ship them back?

According to OP they are not in hiding but camping outside Caleis.

Arrested 200 out of 2,100? More troubles to come.

Because according to the UN that would be inhumane...

Ain't it grand that unelected bureaucrats can dictate immigration policies...

It's a long time since on many occasions I stated my views on current UN.

It outlived its significance.

It has no real power or economic base.

Its ideas have been hijacked by numerous 'members' from the stone age.

If I am raining on somebody's parade - I do not apologise.

I very rarely agree with you but for the most part, you could lop off more than half of the UN HQ and associated regional HQs around the world and not notice any difference. The UN in their current form are the ultimate oxygen theives.

Within this context for discussion then it is worth pondering mutilateral cooperation in solving what clearly is a problem of people not exercising their right to claim asylum in the first safe country.

ive always struggled to see why you would want to head to sunny England, Sweden would be my first choice of desitnation if I was a welfare tourist.

But given the comment on unelected bureaucrats has been brought up in this discussion, one could ponder the consequences of the levels of cooperation which would exist between these unelected bureaucrats and the UK government should the status quo of EU status for these aformentioned countries change.

Could we see for instance, the situation where France take on the role of Mexico, happily waving through migrants to the UK in the same way Central American workers are waved through to the US.

I would submit that more EU level cooperation rather than less would be needed if one were to help solve these problems.

I trust these comments are taken within the context of the discussion which has ensued from this news article.

[JockPieandBeans]

Time to start shooting

or nuke the Euro tunnel, it's obsolete anyway when UK leaves EU.

No need for a Nuke. 10KGs of Plastic Explosive is enough to close the tunnel permanently.

[Steely Dan]

This sort of occurrence is becoming commonplace. It should serve as a reminder to the UK government of just how valuable a strategic asset the English Channel is.

What is undeniable is the clear trend towards excluding unwelcome invaders. Walls and fences are being erected all over the world, if ever there were an endorsement of the Clash of civilizations theory this is it.

[zzo]

These people whether by boat or on foot, never had the funds to make the trip. This huge migration is a direct invasion of

Europe. Most are Followers of Allah. They are out birthing the Europeans around five to one. It is obvious that the African boatloads could never have afforded 1,000 Euros per trip. It is financed by big money in the Middle East. The EU for some reason is not putting a stop to this. One journalist suggested that the EU government wants to homonginize Europe. This invasion will do it. However, the EU is shooting themselves in the foot. Doesn't anyone in government read history? Goodby Rome.

[whiterussian]

Maybe get the warmongers/ in the 'west' to stop destroying these countries by proxy might stop the flood of refugees seeking bliss in Blighty - the food, weather, rabid politicians...
Bush - Clinton - Trump - Cameron and EU mandarins = Thanks for all the fish

[MaxYakov]

Have them walk to the UK via Doggerland. It's nearby an the transit won't bother anyone.

Maybe they can pick up some prehistoric artifacts along the way to make themselves useful.

[Briggsy]

The reason they head to England is the immediate accommodation and full benefits they are provided with whilst waiting for their asylum claim to be processed. In France, they have to camp out.

[RickBradford]

G. Wilders position is indefensible in current political climate of Europe. Besides, he is addressing the problem of new refugees to come. He is completely without a solution for refugees already living in Europe.

He has some ideas:

1 ) That the Dutch government should reimpose national border controls (i.e. leave the Schengen zone)

2 ) Stop Muslim immigration to the Netherlands immediately and completely.

3 ) Allow citizens from other countries (and dual nationals) to live in the Netherlands, but if they commit serious crimes, deport them back to their country of origin (regardless of ethnicity or religion)

4 ) Abandon policies of appeasement towards Muslims in the Netherlands who want to expand their influence on the life of the country.

As you say, unthinkable in the current politically correct climate of Europe. But things are going to get worse, and Wilders' views are sure to gain even more traction in future.

[Basil B]

So they have the money to boost security of the tunnel.

Why not use this money to round up those poor unfortunate immigrants and ship them back?

According to OP they are not in hiding but camping outside Caleis.

Arrested 200 out of 2,100? More troubles to come.

Yes you was bang on with your prediction...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33699141

Gang estimated to be 1,500 last night. seems the French answer to this problem is to help them on their way... North bound.

They are Illegal Immigrants why does France round them up and ship them in camps far away from Calais.

[webfact]

Eurotunnel: 37,000 migrant crossing attempts blocked
ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press

CALAIS, France (AP) — Migrants rushed the tunnel linking France and England repeatedly for a second night on Wednesday and one man was crushed by a truck in the chaos, deepening tensions surrounding the thousands of people camped in this northern French port city. Eurotunnel said it had blocked more than 37,000 such attempts by migrants to reach Britain since January.

There were conflicting numbers of people involved Wednesday, ranging from 150 to as many as 1,200. But all agreed there had been about 2,000 attempts on each of two successive nights — numbers have been growing exponentially as has sense of crisis in recent weeks, spurred by new barriers around the Eurotunnel site, labor strife that turned the rails into protest sites for striking workers, and an influx of migrants desperate for a better life.

Many British officials have expressed growing alarm at what they see as a potential influx of foreigners, although it's not clear how many people have successfully made the passage.

A group of about 25 migrants was seen getting off a public bus in Calais on Wednesday with a police officer who left them by the side of the road. Several said they were returning from a night of trying to get across the Channel.

Natacha Bouchart, mayor of Calais, said about 150-250 migrants tried repeatedly overnight to reach the Eurotunnel. French officials said it was the second night of mass attempts on the tunnel. Gilles Debove, a police union official, counted about 2,000 attempts for a second night running. Debove said officers pushing back the migrants counted between 750 and 1,200 people.

Bouchart told France Info radio on Wednesday that migrants are trying to reach England from France "at all costs" — first crossing a busy highway and then trying to stow away on trucks waiting to board trains. She says Britain, France and the Eurotunnel need to work together on the issue.

The man killed overnight, believed to be a Sudanese migrant in his mid-20s, was crushed by a truck as he tried to stow away, Debove told The Associated Press.

Attempts among the thousands of migrants camped in Calais to reach England have intensified with labor strife involving Eurotunnel, which has seen striking ferry workers repeatedly disrupt the railway to protest job cuts.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking during his visit to Singapore, described the crisis as "very concerning," but that there was no point in "pointing fingers of blame".

The British government has agreed to extra 7 million pounds ($11 million) of funding for measures to improve security at Calais.

Migrants continue to press northward, fleeing war, dictatorship and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

Two ships unloaded in Italy on Wednesday, one carrying 435 passengers and 14 bodies and another with 692 migrants.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-29

[Sabrinus]

So they have the money to boost security of the tunnel.

Why not use this money to round up those poor unfortunate immigrants and ship them back?

According to OP they are not in hiding but camping outside Caleis.

Arrested 200 out of 2,100? More troubles to come.

The big problem is that unless they can prove where you are from, passport, documents etc. Then they have no know country to deport them to. This has been a constant issue. So once in an E.U. country, and with no record of where to deport them to, they have to 'settle them'.

We then have the issue of, moving them away from Calais to another region in France, this was done before, and they only jump in a train and come back, so a total waist of time.

Big problem and no one has the solution.

[jpinx]

So -- one could say that France is hosting a siege of the UK -- or not?

[RickBradford]

The big problem is that unless they can prove where you are from, passport, documents etc. Then they have no know country to deport them to. This has been a constant issue. So once in an E.U. country, and with no record of where to deport them to, they have to 'settle them'.

No they don't. That would be giving in to the crudest form of blackmail.

There are ways of identifying where people come from, generally by listening to their speech. Australia did this when boat people turning up on its shores refused to identify their place of origin.

Modern Europe would probably regard this as unacceptably racist or contravening their human rights or something.

So Europe simply continues to make a rod for its own back.

[Usernames]

Never should have built that tunnel in the first place.

[ABCer]

So they have the money to boost security of the tunnel.

Why not use this money to round up those poor unfortunate immigrants and ship them back?

According to OP they are not in hiding but camping outside Caleis.

Arrested 200 out of 2,100? More troubles to come.

The big problem is that unless they can prove where you are from, passport, documents etc. Then they have no know country to deport them to. This has been a constant issue. So once in an E.U. country, and with no record of where to deport them to, they have to 'settle them'.

We then have the issue of, moving them away from Calais to another region in France, this was done before, and they only jump in a train and come back, so a total waist of time.

Big problem and no one has the solution.

Usually people say there is no way out in any situation when the obvious way out is not to their liking.

When I was a kid I was taught: if there is no visible way out - use the entrance.

BTW, if I am allowed to make another prediction: British better protect their tunnel against terrorists attack!

[Exsexyman]

The hand wringing hypocrisy of The West and their politicians is so predictable. They took the decision to overthrow the government in Libya under false pretenses, ie, they were just going to enforce a no fly zone. Anyone with an ounce of common sense could have predicted the outcome. A vacuum created which inevitably would be filled by radical Islamic militants, Libya now has gone from one of the richest countries in Africa, a secular society with modern infrastructure and a leader who gave no quarter to Al Qaeda and other offshoot Islamic militants, to absolute chaos and anarchy with various lunatic factions running amok, destabilizing not just Libya but most of North Africa. The recent terrorist attack in Tunisia was carried out by people who trained in Libya. Gaddafi was the first leader to warn of the dangers of Al Qaeda and to call for the arrest of Bin Laden, well before 9-11. He had first hand experience of dealing with them, and did a good job of keeping them in their box. As did Saddam Hussain in Iraq. Of course the methods used were not pretty but they were effective. They were doing to these Islamic fanatics, (of whom ISIS are the latest offshoots), exactly what most posters on here are now calling for the West to do to ISIS, ie, putting them down and not allowing them even the slightest foothold. Well as the old saying goes, 'You reap what you sow'.The indisputable consequences of the West's 'adventures' in the Middle East and North Africa are now on show for all to see. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain cell that this would happen, but they went ahead and did it anyway. The only conclusions that can possibly be drawn is that either Western Leaders didn't care, or this has been the plan all along. Keep these countries in permanent chaos because that is what suits some countries geo political interests. Can anyone really, with hand on heart, look at Libya and Iraq now and say that the average person on the street is better off now that we have destroyed their countries than they were under Gaddafi and Hussain? Only the terminally deluded could possibly think that. Or are the citizens of the US and Europe safer and more secure? Of course not. Time to put the blame on the refugee crisis squarely where it belongs, on our political leaders who deliberately created the conditions for this crisis to occur. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. They can't blame 'unforeseen consequences', they were told this would happen. Should have heeded the warnings from Gaddafi, even if they had to hold their noses whilst doing so!

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/233238/Colonel-Gaddafi-Immigrants-will-invade-Europe

http://migrantsatsea.org/2011/03/07/gaddafi-if-libya-is-threatened-thousands-of-immigrants-will-invade-europe-from-libya/

Whatever else Gaddafi may or may not have been, he was an extremely accurate prophet!

[Aforek]

Time to start shooting

or nuke the Euro tunnel, it's obsolete anyway when UK leaves EU.

Leaves EU ? to go where ? float to USA ? it's true it's easy for them, they are an island , more difficult when it's a continent

[boomerangutang]

Maybe get the warmongers/ in the 'west' to stop destroying these countries by proxy might stop the flood of refugees seeking bliss in Blighty - the food, weather, rabid politicians... Bush - Clinton - Trump - Cameron and EU mandarins = Thanks for all the fish

Whether or not westerners fight wars in the M.East, there will be grave problems - always have been, are now, and always will be. US pulled out of Iraq, and look what happened within weeks: a group of bloodlusting child-raping crazies took over, all Muslim on Muslim.

Big problem and no one has the solution.

I don't have a nifty solution, but there are ways to lessen such problems in the future: It all stems from overpopulation as much as any of dozens of other problems. How to lessen future population blooms? Free condoms, free tube-tying operations for men or women, free abortions, incentives for women to not get pregnant and not have babies, education for girls, .... for starters.

Edited July 29, 2015 by boomerangutang