Walls and Demolitions Won’t Solve France and the U.K.’s Calais Crisis

Walls and Demolitions Won’t Solve France and the U.K.’s Calais Crisis
Residents of Calais gather next to the foreign affair ministry during a protest, Paris, March 7, 2016 (AP photo by Christophe Ena).

Last week, the United Kingdom announced plans to begin building a barricade at the French port of Calais, dubbed by some media the “Great Wall of Calais.” The U.K. will foot the bill, and the barrier will complement a fence that already protects the port and is guarded by heavily armed French police.

The move followed massive protests held by French truck drivers and farmers, who threatened to block the port until Calais’ large migrant camp, known as the “Jungle,” is dismantled. Protesters argue that the camp, which, according to some estimates, is home to 9,000 migrants, has led to a spike in violence. Migrants, desperate to enter the U.K., have turned to staging barricades on major thoroughfares, in the hopes of stowing away on the Britain-bound trucks forced to slow down.

Both France and the U.K. have taken measures to improve security around the camp, but have struggled to keep up with its rising population. In 2014, Britain pledged $16 million to address the Calais crisis—funding that will help build the wall—and an extra $3 million to bolster security measures, including enhanced surveillance technology, to prevent border crossings.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review