Dozens of migrants tried to storm a ferry bound for Britain amid growing calls by France for David Cameron to help to tackle illegal immigration across the Channel.
Riot police were deployed after up to 100 people breached security and tried to run up the ramp of the Berlioz, operated by MyFerryLink. They retreated after the crew raised the ramp and turned a fire hose on them.
A spokesman for the operator said: “The crew took immediate action to ensure the ship’s security.”
A spokeswoman for the Border Force said: “The incident was quickly brought under control and the French police apprehended all those involved.”
Police reinforcements arrived in Calais last night amid growing exasperation in the town.
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Natacha Bouchart, the mayor of Calais, has threatened to blockade cross-Channel traffic unless Britain offers compensation for the millions of euros she says the migrants are costing local councils every year. Her threat is widely seen as an attempt to appease locals angered by the 1,500 migrants estimated to be using Calais as a base to reach the UK. A further 200 arrive every week.
Calais has the highest rate of unemployment in France — 17.7 per cent — and many residents say it cannot afford to handle the crisis.
“It’s difficult enough here anyway here without this,” said Annick Van Tittelboom, pointing from the window of her fine wine shop at hundreds of migrants waiting for charity meals.
“I know they are all in unfortunate circumstances, but there are just too many of them now and they are causing real harm to Calais’s image.”
She said that customers were deserting her shop and she could find no buyers for her house, which is on the market.
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Her husband blamed Britain for the crisis. “What right do you have to block them here?”he said, standing in the among his wines, which include prestigious labels such as Fleurie, from the Beaujolais region. “You should be the ones dealing with this, not us. It’s your problem and we’re landed with it.”
The latest wave of migrants come mainly from Eritrea, as well as from Sudan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Their desperation is manifest. When 10km traffic jams built up around the port last week, some migrants sought to get into caravans and motorhomes driven by British tourists.
Last Wednesday an estimated 85 Africans broke through the metal fencing around the port in an attempt to clamber on to a ferry.
They were pushed back by riot police, but Jean-Marc Puissesseau, chairman of the chamber of commerce and industry, which runs the port, said: “The situation is unacceptable and the port is on the front line of what is a siege.”
Ms Bouchart is pressing for border controls to be moved to Dover, shifting the crisis to the other side of the Channel. However, she has little hope of securing David Cameron’s approval.
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With Calais likely to remain at the centre of the crisis for months, Bernard Cazeneuve, the French interior minister, has agreed to open a day centre for migrants outside the town.
That has led to fears of a replica of the shelter at Sangatte, which was shut 12 years ago. “If they set up another Sangatte, I fear there will be a war here,” said Ms Van Tittelboom.
Charlie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, said there needed to be a Europe-wide solution. “Britain is not responsible for the Calais chaos,” he said. “International action is required to tackle the people traffickers driving this problem. The EU needs to provide active help, not stand idly by while Dover and Calais bear the brunt.”
Amanuel, from Asmara, in Eritrea, voiced astonishment. “We thought we would have a good welcome from Europe,” he said. “But it is terrible.”
He said he lived in a makeshift tent in a camp, ate once a day and spent every night trying to board a lorry bound for Britain. He has been in Calais for six weeks and not made it yet. “But we’ll all get there one day,” he said.