Calais migrant crisis hurting business in UK and France: Britain’s immigration debate turns shrill

The migrant influx to UK emanating from French border town Calais is affecting exporters and haulers on both sides of the English Channel. They are worried that the crisis is hitting their revenue badly and have urged both French and U.K. governments to alleviate the situation.

Unlike the past, there is a big surge in migrants, mainly from Sudan, Syria and Eritrea, who are hoping to reach the U.K. from their camps in the French port of Calais, seeking a better life and work. The situation has turned alarming with some 3,000 migrants, staying in makeshift camps, started trying to cross into the U.K, reports Wall Street Journal.

This time, the migrants, numbering thousands have disrupted freight and passenger traffic in the summer holiday season. Thousands of migrants have already tried to breach the train terminal operated by Groupe Eurotunnel, which runs the tunnel under the Channel. A few migrants were also killed. As a result, the tunnel is getting closed down frequently, leading to blocked traffic and vehicles struck midway. According to French police union official Gilles Debove, some 1,700 attempts have been made to enter the tunnel overnight and many French riot policeman were injured in stone-throwing.

Anti-immigration rhetoric

The storming of Channel tunnel from French side by the migrants has prompted Prime Minister David Cameron's government to ramp up anti-immigration rhetoric and Eurosceptics have also raised the pitch for Britain quitting the European Union. While the government's shrill tone is hurting churchmen and left-wing politicians, anti-EU campaigners have stepped up their criticism that Britain’s leadership is incapable of protecting its borders by remaining within the EU bloc.

PM’s problem

The migrants’ influx from Calais is also becoming a political problem for the Conservatives and Prime Minister David Cameron, as the crisis is getting portrayed as Mr Cameron’s failure to keep the promises with regard to curbing immigration. It is going to make Mr Cameron’ position weak as persuading voters for a yes vote on staying within the EU in the upcoming referendum in 2017 will be difficult. Mr Cameron’s promise of cutting net annual migration to tens of thousands from the hundreds of thousands has already missed the target. Calais continues to be the hub of migrants seeking to slip into Britain, where they hope to merge with the booming informal economy.

New steps

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said his Government has started having a better a grip on the crisis and is dispatching 100 security guards to Calais. "We saw a peak last week, since when the number of illegal migrants has tailed off," he said. Hammond claimed that a number of new measures, in collaboration with the French authorities and Euro tunnel, have been planned and in the coming days the impact will show up.

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