Britain’s Freight Transport Association (FTA) has welcomed confirmation by the UK Home Office it will fund a 1km wall at the Port of Calais’ most intense flashpoint, but cites a “collapse of public order” as migrants fashion weapons to hurl at lorries.
The wall will be in addition to the existing fence at Calais as the latter is now costing GBP80,000 (US$107,000) per week to repair with migrants trying to hack through in an attempt to board trucks bound for the UK.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
A forensic spotlight is slowly being turned onto increasing violence at the northern French port, as the adjacent camp has now reached 10,000 refugees, with half of this number homeless according to the French Ministry of the Interior.
A staggering 1% of France’s entire Police force now appears to be concentrated at Calais in a bid to halt the violence and as one road haulier estimates the mayhem is draining £250,000 per year from his business alone.
“Broadly speaking, we are in favour of anything that increases security and makes Calais safer for our members to pass through,” an FTA spokeswoman told just-auto. “However, it is a bit of a sticking plaster because it does not tackle the crux of the problem, which is the migrant camp.
“If the French government lives up to its promise to move the camp by November, that will be fantastic. It will remove the need for Police to be constantly policing the fence.”
Construction of the wall will start this month and is due to be completed by the end of the year, with the 1km long, 4m high edifice built along both sides of the Rocade port approach road.
The FTA visited Calais last week in a bid to gauge the level of violence being meted out on what it seems to be a nightly basis, while a coalition of French truck drivers, farmers and local businesses brought large parts of the Port to a standstill on 5 September in a bid to force Paris to take notice.
“It was quite an eye-opener to witness the level of violence our members are having to put up with, day in day out,” added the FTA spokeswoman. “While we were there, we drove into [the] middle of a tear gas attack, the Police were trying to disperse the migrants.
“We spoke to truck drivers based in the Port and foreign drivers, who told us the situation was getting far worse. How they don’t stop anywhere near the Port because of the risk of migrants boarding trucks.
“He [driver] was talking about migrants breaking off branches, then sharpening them like spears.”
Any impact on the UK automotive supply chain does not yet appear to be significant, with the more direct cost being borne by road haulage operators themselves as drivers experience major delays while up to 14 separate checks are carried out on vehicles.
However, some GBP89bn of British trade passes through Calais every year and the FTA is calling for urgent action by the French government to dismantle the camp and maintain vital business.
“We have been frustrated by the lamentable reaction of the French Government so far given the collapse of public order in the Calais region and the impossible position it has put their citizens and businesses in,” added FTA deputy chief executive, James Hookham.
“Only the French Government can resolve the overall problem, and we call on it to act sooner rather than later.”
Paris has agreed to hold weekly meetings with local officials, police and businesses to assess progress.
