Mayor of Calais threatens to 'open the border' unless British Govt sits down for talks to solve migrant crisis Thursday Aug 13,2015

Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart has threatened to ‘open the border’ unless the British Govt is willing to sit down for talks to resolve the migrant crisis.

She accused David Cameron of ‘mocking’ French authorities and trying to ‘impose’ British law on Calais.

Although Miss Bouchart has no say on actual border controls, she is in charge of police in Calais and could relax the heavy security operation restricting migrants’ attempts to access the Channel Tunnel terminal and port.

Note

Calais has been a site of unauthorized migrant camps for more than 15 years

In the late 1990s, Calais became a hub for migrants fleeing the conflict in Kosovo

In 1999 the French Red Cross set up a refugee camp in the neighboring village of Sangatte to absorb the migrant influx
As the numbers of migrants rose there were reports that the Sangatte camp faced problems maintaining proper standards of care and the French authorities closed the camp in 2002

Even after the closure of Sangatte, migrants continued to arrive in Calais and build makeshift camps
In recent years there has been a population surge in the ramshackle tent and shanty community called the Jungle. Many migrants living there fled war or oppression in countries like Syria, Iraq and Eritrea. Afghans, Sudanese and Ethiopians