Britons stranded as ferry workers stage new Calais blockade
THOUSANDS of British holidaymakers have been left stranded in France after striking ferry workers blocked the port of Calais. The French workers blocked the port’s main entrance with two lifeboats as part of a dispute over possible job losses.
Families travelling back to the UK on a busy Bank Holiday weekend were faced with frustration as traffic leading to the port ground to a halt.
As many as 2,000 people were left stranded in the French town yesterday. To add to the difficulties, Eurotunnel said it was only accepting passengers with pre-booked tickets last night.
The huge tailbacks will also lead to fears that illegal immigrants could take advantage of the situation by trying to clamber on to vehicles.
The incident is the latest in a long-running dispute between French workers and the MyFerryLink company. They are protesting plans to sell off two of the company’s ships to Danish rival firm DFDS, which will result in 400 job losses.
The two orange and white lifeboats, usually found on the side of ferries, could be seen blocking the entrance to the channel last night. Last month, hundreds of workers burnt tyres to block the road leading to the port.
A spokesman for P&O Ferries said: ‘Two ferries have been in Calais for two months and haven’t moved due to the ongoing problems with MyFerryLink. It is believed life rafts have been jettisoned off the ferries to try to blockade the port.
‘It has prevented one of our ferries from leaving and one from entering and one is unable to leave the UK at the moment.
‘It is the busiest weekend of the year for holidays so this needs addressing immediately and the whole of the port will be in lock- down until this is solved. It is down to the Port of Calais and French authorities to clear the area.’ Holidaymakers took to Twitter to complain of the disruption.
One wrote: ‘The French know it’s bank holiday here tomorrow so they want to cause as much aggravation as possible.’
Another said: ‘Why don’t the French authorities do anything? It happens too often.’
Remi Rasenberg said he was prevented from travelling to Britain because of the blockade. He wrote: ‘Am on board a P&O ferry in Calais with my young family and can indeed confirm there is currently a blockade.
‘Our 7.55pm sailing to Dover still stuck in Calais. 2,000 passengers on board. Despite updates from captain, no news on ETD. Thunder and lightning also on the horizon to add to the drama.’
A meeting to discuss the issue will be held at the Department of Transport headquarters in Paris today.
A Port of Dover spokesman said last night: ‘We will continue to monitor the situation closely in liaison with our ferry partners and the Port of Calais.’