DAILY EXPRESS: FRANCE wants Britain to sign a deal allowing thousands of migrants to flood into the UK.
Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart’s controversial plan to scrap passport controls was announced as migrants in the port staged an angry demo yesterday, waving placards written in flawless English.
The banners expose how Britain’s open-door asylum system and benefits culture are a magnet for Afghans, Kurds and Eritreans.
Exasperated by the sight of migrants sleeping rough as they try to board England-bound trains and lorries illegally, Mrs Bouchart outlined her scheme to rid Calais of the blight to French Immigration Minister Eric Besson.
“It’s necessary to speed up negotiations with the British because at the moment we’re ready to charter a boat to dump them over there,” she said. She said all Britain had to do was sign up to the Schengen Agreement, which allows anybody to travel between EU states without passports or visas.
Mr Besson challenged Britain to share responsibility for France’s problem by asking why migrants from places such as Iran, Somalia and Sudan travel across the world to reach the UK. “Britain should step up its controls and take on more of this burden,” he said. “Britain should also question why migrants and the traffickers in migrants believe that the British illegal job market is a golden opportunity.” >>> By Paul Allen and Anil Dawar | Friday, April 24, 2009
