French coastal towns are turning into flashpoints as police struggle to contain migrant clashes and rising local unrest.
French coastal towns are turning into flashpoints as police struggle to contain migrant clashes (Image: Getty)
Residents in seaside towns along France’s northern coast say that they are being “terrorised” by groups of migrants as law enforcement struggles to maintain control. Residents in places such as Gravelines, Dunkirk and Calais have reported growing disorder and law-breaking as migrants wait on the beaches before attempting crossings of the English Channel.
One resident in Gravelines – a major hotspot for small boat activity – told GB News: “We’re being terrorised by mobs of migrants. They’re not just fighting with police. They’re damaging our property and cars”. “They seem to be increasingly desperate to get across to Britain. When they can’t launch their boats for whatever reason, they go on the rampage, fighting with police.” Recent video footage reviewed by the media company showed around 100 migrants clashing with police in the early hours in a residential area after a failed launch attempt from the beach. The video shows the group, wearing life-jackets, roaming through residential streets, many shouting and chanting “Allahu Akbar” while pelting police vehicles with rocks.
Police say beaches near Gravelines and Dunkirk have become flashpoints (Image: Getty)
In inland camps, the picture is no less stark. At the camp in Loon‑Plage, near Dunkirk, there have been more than half a dozen fatal shootings in the past year, linked to turf wars between smuggling networks and migrants attempting boat crossings without paying.
Police say beaches near Gravelines and Dunkirk have become flashpoints, with authorities firing tear-gas when large groups attempt to wade into the sea wearing life-jackets. One maritime security source told GB News: “The distribution of life-jackets to migrants simply enables these crossing attempts. The very least local police should be doing is taking these life-jackets off them when they see migrants wearing them or carrying them in public.”
This news comes as it was revealed on Wednesday that French police are preventing 10% fewer crossings since the one-in, one-out deal took effect. New data shows that 28.7% of attempts by migrants to cross the Channel to Britain have been successfully stopped by French police since the deal took effect in August. However, this is nearly a 10% decline compared to the equivalent 13-week period before Sir Keir Starmer struck the deal with President Emmanuel Macron.
Authorities fear tensions will rise in the migrant camps as winter’s rough conditions will mean fewer safe crossings (Image: Getty)
Local business owners and residents in France have said the impact of violence is piling up, with repeated break-ins, graffiti on beach huts, as well as a rise in thefts of bikes and tools by over 30% in six months.
In Calais, tensions among thousands of asylum seekers (including Eritreans, Sudanese and Afghans) have spilt into public spaces, prompting school closures and curfews in some neighbourhoods.
Authorities fear that with winter approaching, the risk of violence and unrest in these coastal communities will only get worse, as rough conditions will mean fewer safe crossings and rising frustration in the migrant camps.
