Residents in a quaint northern France town have seen their lives turned upside-down as tensions between migrants seeking to cross the English Channel into the UK and French police boil over.
Grand-Fort-Philippe, a small commune in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais department, became a launch pad for dinghies and small boats carrying migrants hoping to reach British shores.
Locals used to have polite relationships with these men, women and children, with many expressing their empathy to the exiled forced to flee persecution and war at home.
But as illegal migration continues to grow into an even hotter topic across France and the rest of Europe, clashes between migrants and police have become more frequent.
The quaint commune, home to just over 5,000 people, is being rocked by “urban guerrilla warfare” so brutal that it has left many concerned about the violence.
Yvon Agez, who has lived in Grand-Fort-Philippe his whole life, told The Telegraph: “Between us and the migrants, there’s no problem. They pass by, we exchange hellos, and that’s that.
“Now that police are preventing them from leaving it’s become war, a war between police and migrants. If the police would just let them cross, there’d be no problem.”
French police have ramped up efforts to crack down on people smugglers all along the northern coast after the UK struck a multi-million-pound agreement to “stop the boats.”
The new strategy has prompted migrants to look for alternative routes to leave the French coast, with Grand-Fort-Philppe’s many canals and rivers looked at as potential launch pads for small boats.
New encampments have been set up as more and more people travel to the northern commune in a bid to bypass stronger security presence at more popular hotspots like Calais.
Local mayors earlier this month saw their pleas for police reinforcements answered but the arrival of extra officers has resulted in a surge of violent clashes with migrants.
Police have resorted to puncturing dinghies and chasing out migrants sheltering in the local park or World War 2-era bunkers.
Migrants have grown increasingly frustrated as their efforts to head to the UK are being thwarted and expressed their discontent by throwing rocks and stones at police and parked cars around town.
Mr Agez said he has resorted to escorting his 12-year-old to and from school out of fear she might get caught in the crossfire in the event of further clashes.
He said: “We are afraid. We don’t know what could happen.”
Reference :
Reference link
