Cut UK welfare to end migrant chaos says Calais mayor
BRITAIN’S generous welfare system is to blame for thousands of migrants massing in Calais, the town’s mayor claimed yesterday.
Natacha Bouchart said the migrants were desperate to cross to Britain from the ferry port as “they can expect better conditions than anywhere else in Europe”.
In a thinly veiled threat she said countries that did not “take responsibility in this global problem” should face sanctions.
But a Tory MP accused her of trying to blame Britain for her town’s failure to act.
Power
The row erupted after the Daily Express revealed thousands more migrants were heading to the UK because the French were threatening to end a border agreement.
Calais chiefs have pledged to do “everything they can” to get out of a treaty stipulating border checks must be carried out before passengers embark for Britain.
Ms Bouchart said: “The main problem is the migrants that arrive in Calais don’t want to ask for asylum. They want to travel on to England. They want to go to England as they can expect better conditions on arrival there than anywhere else in Europe or even internationally.
“There are no ID cards. They can easily find work outside the formal economy that is not really controlled.
“They can get social welfare support that doesn’t exist in other countries.
“It’s migrants themselves who arrive in England and who pass on the message that there is plenty more space for migrants to come.”
She said the UK “is not really interested” as border controls take place on French soil and called for measures to be taken against countries who didn’t take responsibility for the global problem.
And she claimed Britain leaves her to manage the problem “without financial assistance”.
“It’s truly an enormous responsibility and hugely difficult for me personally as mayor of a town of 75,000 inhabitants,” said Ms Bouchart, in an interview for the Council of Europe Journal.
Numbers of migrants camped around the town have risen from 500 to 3,000.
Last year the authorities were “unable to handle the situation”, she said.
The response from British authorities was “not very substantial”, she said, citing an offer of 15 million euros (£ 11million) to pay for security measures.
Codswallop
Ms Bouchart called for European countries to take part in a system of “quotas” for migrants, which are “revised” according to world events, and to create reception centres for migrants.
She added: “People continue to arrive. Europe’s main challenge is to urgently address and give priority to solving the daily problems associated with migration.”
But Charlie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover, said: “Once again, the mayor of Calais is talking total codswallop.
“Everyone knows she wants to tear up our border controls at Calais; she wants to send more migrants to Britain.
“It is time she took responsibility rather than seeking to blame everyone else.”
MAYOR of Calais Natacha Bouchart says Britain should take the blame for the massed ranks of migrants living in her city. No doubt this finger pointing goes down well with her constituents who bear the brunt of this absurd situation but it will not help to solve the problem.
She is right that our Government gives illegal migrants benefits far too readily and that the size of our black economy means there are plenty of ways for them to earn a living.
When they would rather try their luck crossing the Channel than claim asylum in France it is clear that Britain is a particularly alluring destination. Our Government must do more to discourage the view among those planning a trip in the back of a lorry that our streets are paved with gold.
However solving this issue requires change from the French too. If their authorities are so concerned about the migrants in Calais they should at least try to arrest and deport them. Instead they are building state- of- the- art accommodation facilities that would put some holiday camps to shame.
Ms Bouchart’s carefully nursed sense of grievance would be a lot more convincing if illegal migrants were not being openly pandered to on her side of the Channel.