Strikers trap UK tourists in Calais
THOUSANDS of British holidaymakers were caught up in yet more crossChannel chaos yesterday as French strikers burned tyres to block the motorway leading to the Eurotunnel.
Queues of cars and lorries built up as the wildcat action by ferry workers melted tarmac, created plumes of smoke and left Eurotunnel trains departing half- empty because vehicles could not get through.
Cheering strikers waved the banners of their union, the hardline Maritime Nord, as other piled tyres to burn at the A16 motorway’s key junction 42.
Militant leaders have pledged a summer of chaos in a bitter dispute, which has entered its second month, over up to 600 job cuts on ferry services. They claim they can bring Calais ‘to a standstill’ at a moment’s notice. The chaos yesterday mostly affected cars and lorries using the Eurotunnel vehicle shuttle service. The firm warned of heavy congestion and long delays on the French side.
Eurostar, which operates passenger train services to and from London’s St Pancras Station, said its services were not affected.
Following talks, strikers yesterday ended their blockade of ferries owned by Danish firm DFDS. P&O Ferries crossing between Dover and Calais have been unaffected by the action.
Many of the 3,000-plus migrants sleeping rough in Calais took advantage of the latest industrial action by jumping on to stranded trucks and cars bound for the UK.