The “Jungle” in Calais which is lost – Le Dauphiné Libéré

The state of emergency? “In the Calais region, the state of emergency does not exist”. Angry, the mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart (Republicans) yesterday was in the procession that marched for nearly two hours in the quiet, the streets of the city. The demonstration called traders and port professionals to support jobs was attended by about 2000 people.

The “jungle” with the massive presence of migrants on the outskirts of the city, ruin the local economic activity. “In the restoration, the decline in one year is 30-40%,” says Frédéric van Gansbeke, president of the group companies and traders of Calais, which includes hundreds of local economic players.

Last month, the group called for a moratorium on the Calais traders taxes because of “a sharp drop in activity” due to the migration crisis.

Call for Holland

Natacha Bouchart was never taken to the streets. His presence at the event yesterday, after the incident of the previous day with the intrusion of fifty migrants on a ferry, demonstrates the urgency to address the issue of wilderness camping at the gates of the city. About 4000 migrants live there, came from East Africa mainly, the Middle East and Afghanistan in the hope of winning the UK.

On January 11, a center Home of 125 containers with 12 seats, heated, opened on site. If he has improved the living conditions of migrants, it has not solved the problems of the “jungle” of Calais, considered the largest slum in France.

Natacha Bouchart asked “solemnly President Hollande to come on site to Calais to address issues related to the camp. ” But it is she who will travel next week in Paris: it will be received on February 3 by the Interior Minister and his counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve of Justice Christiane Taubira. A previous visit had already taken place Beauvau place on December 23, which was attended Xavier Bertrand (LR). “The situation gets out of control: we must act! “Tweeted yesterday the President of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy region.

The president of the port of Calais, he asked” extremely quickly a crisis meeting “with local officials , regional, parliamentary and government: “It can not continue! “