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Britain is 'Eldorado' for illegal migrants, says Calais mayor
Natacha Bouchart says Britain lacks 'courage' to review immigration laws
By Joe Barnes, BRUSSELS CORRESPONDENT 4 November 2021 • 10:30am
Britain is an “Eldorado” for illegal migrants and should toughen its laws to dissuade cross-Channel arrivals, according to the mayor of Calais.
Natacha Bouchart, a member of the centre-right Republicains, said Paris should rewrite the treaty that obliges France to control migrants before they cross the Channel.
“We know that a migrant who arrives in England is taken care of. They are housed, they have an income,” she told French radio station RTL.
“For them, England remains an Eldorado but the British Government does not have the courage to review its legislation in the field.”
Emmanuel Macron, the French President, must forcefully renegotiate the Touquet agreement because Britain’s soft touch on migrants has inflicted “trauma” on Calais residents “for over 20 years”, she added.
Ms Bourchart accused Britain of acting as a “pull factor” for illegal migrants, which has essentially lured people to the port town from all over the European Union.
Under the 2003 Le Touquet treaty, people must produce valid travel documents before leaving France for Britain. As a result, this leaves the French authorities in charge of the border protection arrangements.
In a call for showdown talks over migration, Ms Bourchart said President Macron must “strongarm” Britain to “overhaul” the treaty.
Mr Macron said he wanted to renegotiate the Touquet pact or scrap it during his successful bid to become French president in 2017. He later secured more UK funding for extra border security in talks with Theresa May.
The treaty effectively moved the British border on to French soil, preventing many migrants from reaching UK shores.
Paris has raised the prospect of ending checks on migrants in France unless Britain backs down in the post-Brexit dispute over fishing licences.
Either side can revoke the border agreement with just two years' notice before it is officially cancelled.
Natacha Bouchart says Britain lacks 'courage' to review immigration laws
By Joe Barnes, BRUSSELS CORRESPONDENT 4 November 2021 • 10:30am
Britain is an “Eldorado” for illegal migrants and should toughen its laws to dissuade cross-Channel arrivals, according to the mayor of Calais.
Natacha Bouchart, a member of the centre-right Republicains, said Paris should rewrite the treaty that obliges France to control migrants before they cross the Channel.
“We know that a migrant who arrives in England is taken care of. They are housed, they have an income,” she told French radio station RTL.
“For them, England remains an Eldorado but the British Government does not have the courage to review its legislation in the field.”
Emmanuel Macron, the French President, must forcefully renegotiate the Touquet agreement because Britain’s soft touch on migrants has inflicted “trauma” on Calais residents “for over 20 years”, she added.
Ms Bourchart accused Britain of acting as a “pull factor” for illegal migrants, which has essentially lured people to the port town from all over the European Union.
Under the 2003 Le Touquet treaty, people must produce valid travel documents before leaving France for Britain. As a result, this leaves the French authorities in charge of the border protection arrangements.
In a call for showdown talks over migration, Ms Bourchart said President Macron must “strongarm” Britain to “overhaul” the treaty.
Mr Macron said he wanted to renegotiate the Touquet pact or scrap it during his successful bid to become French president in 2017. He later secured more UK funding for extra border security in talks with Theresa May.
The treaty effectively moved the British border on to French soil, preventing many migrants from reaching UK shores.
Paris has raised the prospect of ending checks on migrants in France unless Britain backs down in the post-Brexit dispute over fishing licences.
Either side can revoke the border agreement with just two years' notice before it is officially cancelled.