Britain’s Road Haulage Association (RHA) says French authorities are not doing enough to protect hauliers driving into the Northern French port of Ouistreham, near Caen.
The RHA warns of a deteriorating situation in the Normandy port after social media videos emerged last week showing gangs of migrants breaking into moving lorries bound for the UK.
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“Since the Calais Jungle was closed in 2016, migrants, with the sole intention of reaching the UK by whatever means possible, are now focusing their attentions on another coastal weak point, the town of Ouistreham,” said RHA chief executive, Richard Burnett.
“The scene there is now chaotic. As in Calais, lorry drivers run a gauntlet of threats and violence 24/7 as they approach the port and each day it’s getting worse.”
RHA members report dozens of migrants line the route along the approach road waiting for an opportunity to break into a lorry.
“It clearly shows how desperate these people are to cross the Channel and the easiest way is on the back of a truck,” added Burnett. “As far as the migrants are concerned, the police are more of an irritant than a deterrent. The rule of law simply isn’t working.
“The French authorities need to get a grip of this crisis, and quickly, before one of these attempts ends in tragedy – for either a migrant or for a UK-bound HGV driver that just wants to do their job.”
