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Calais defies Paris with new 'Sangatte' centre
The town council in Calais has defied President Nicolas Sarkozy's government by opening a Sangatte-style welcome centre for asylum seekers heading to Britain from France.
The well-equipped building opened its doors to some 300 refugees on Friday night, after Calais's Communist mayor said the town faced a "humanitarian crisis" with refugees sleeping rough.
But the move is likely to anger the government in Paris, which opposed the facility after objections from Britain that it would encourage refugees to try to cross the channel illegally.
The centre, a former dockers' building, is only yards from the town's ferry port, where refugees play a nightly game of cat-and-mouse with police as they try to get across the Channel. It includes a large reception area, with 400 beds, canteens and hot showers.
Councillors in Calais approved its opening at a meeting on Thursday evening.
Jacky Henin, the town mayor, had earlier written to Mr Sarkozy, saying the opening of the charity-run centre was a priority because of problems caused by up to 1,500 immigrants sleeping rough in the area.
However, Paris insisted they would not allow "another Sangatte" - referring to the infamous Red Cross Centre which closed in December 2002 after Britain protested that it was a magnet for asylum seekers and people-smugglers.
Refugees regularly made the short walk from Sangatte - which housed 67,000 immigrants in three years - to the nearby EuroTunnel entrance, to try to jump on to slow-moving trains, or hide aboard lorries crossing on ferries.
On Friday, Mr Henin was told by the government that the proposed new centre should not open "under any circumstances".
But he pressed ahead anyway, saying it was a temporary measure. Plans for a more permanent structure have been put back to the New Year.
After the Sangatte camp was bulldozed, the number of asylum seekers drawn to the town fell. Security at the port and around the EuroTunnel entrance, where freight trains slow to a stop and used to be easy to board, was also increased.
But migrants from across central Asia, Africa and eastern Europe continue to come to the area, attempting to find a passage to Britain, prompting complaints from Calais residents that they commit crime.
The well-equipped building opened its doors to some 300 refugees on Friday night, after Calais's Communist mayor said the town faced a "humanitarian crisis" with refugees sleeping rough.
But the move is likely to anger the government in Paris, which opposed the facility after objections from Britain that it would encourage refugees to try to cross the channel illegally.
The centre, a former dockers' building, is only yards from the town's ferry port, where refugees play a nightly game of cat-and-mouse with police as they try to get across the Channel. It includes a large reception area, with 400 beds, canteens and hot showers.
Councillors in Calais approved its opening at a meeting on Thursday evening.
Jacky Henin, the town mayor, had earlier written to Mr Sarkozy, saying the opening of the charity-run centre was a priority because of problems caused by up to 1,500 immigrants sleeping rough in the area.
However, Paris insisted they would not allow "another Sangatte" - referring to the infamous Red Cross Centre which closed in December 2002 after Britain protested that it was a magnet for asylum seekers and people-smugglers.
Refugees regularly made the short walk from Sangatte - which housed 67,000 immigrants in three years - to the nearby EuroTunnel entrance, to try to jump on to slow-moving trains, or hide aboard lorries crossing on ferries.
On Friday, Mr Henin was told by the government that the proposed new centre should not open "under any circumstances".
But he pressed ahead anyway, saying it was a temporary measure. Plans for a more permanent structure have been put back to the New Year.
After the Sangatte camp was bulldozed, the number of asylum seekers drawn to the town fell. Security at the port and around the EuroTunnel entrance, where freight trains slow to a stop and used to be easy to board, was also increased.
But migrants from across central Asia, Africa and eastern Europe continue to come to the area, attempting to find a passage to Britain, prompting complaints from Calais residents that they commit crime.
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