"Police Union spokesman for the Calais region Johann Cavallero said: 'We are being overrun by waves of migrants numbering between two and three hundred at times'."
As I have been saying for some time, this is nothing short of an invasion and it needs to be treated as such. Plucking people out of the drink off the coast of north Africa and ferrying them aboard warships to southern Europe will not tackle it.
“if the french government ends their involvement in the Le Touquet treaty, it doesn't matter how strong any flavour of government is - the UK border will revert to Dover, giving migrants free passage across the channel and the legitimate opportunity to claim asylum on UK soil.”
Not so, mushroom. The government has made it clear (though actions speak louder than words, of course) that should this happen security at Dover will be enhanced and any stowaways found there will be returned forthwith to France. Such asylum seekers do not have the legitimate opportunity to claim asylum in the UK. In fact, by failing to apply for asylum in the first safe country they arrive in they forfeit their right to claim asylum entirely as that right is dependent upon making a claim as soon as possible. (Language and culture play no part in the definition of “safe”).
This, of course, leaves aside the fact that the majority of those coming from Africa are not asylum seekers but economic migrants. Many of them pay huge fees for their illegal passage and could pay for an air ticket for much less. But of course they know that their application to arrive would not be granted if it were made before they left.
If the rest of the EU wants to ponce about with this problem that’s their affair. What the southern states should be doing is repelling this invasion to prevent illegal entries. If they cannot or will not do that it is hardly fair to suggest that the rest of the EU should take its “fair share” of the burden they have failed to repel. It's unfortunate that Italy is closest to north Africa but that's hardly