UK and French officials have responded to rail manager Eurotunnel’s appeal for help over thousands of migrants trying to cross from France to England via the 50km Channel Tunnel.
Eurotunnel revealed on July 22 it had already spent €13 million in the first six months of 2015 on security measures to prevent migrants from getting into the tunnel at the Coquelles site, in the northern French city of Calais.
“[€13 million is] equivalent to the total expenditure for the whole year of 2014,” Eurotunnel highlighted, adding that it expected funding from French and UK governments to continue security efforts.
Extra security has been needed in Calais as part of Europe’s ongoing migrant crisis.
Thousands of migrants, having travelled north from Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere, are camped in Calais, and are reportedly making nightly ‘tunnel runs’ in effort to get across to the UK, perceived to provide more generous treatment of asylum seekers.
Opened in 1994, the Channel Tunnel passes between Calais and Kent, in southeast England. It is well-known for facilitating Eurostar passenger services and the Eurotunnel-operated vehicle shuttle service, but it also facilitates freight trains.
There are no reports of migrants attempting to pass through the tunnel on foot. Instead, migrants are reportedly trying to board passenger or freight vehicles, or on freight trains.
Eight people have died at the Calais site since June, according to BBC figures.
After a death late in July, Eurotunnel renewed its appeal to governments for assistance at Calais.
“Since the arrival of migrants in the region around Calais, Eurotunnel has, beyond its contractual obligations, invested massively in both physical (fences, lighting, cameras, infra-red detectors…) and human resources to protect the tunnel in Coquelles,” the operator said on July 29.
“Since 1 January 2015, Eurotunnel has, using its own resources, discretely intercepted more than 37,000 migrants, who have been handed over to the law enforcement authorities, and has registered thousands of complaints, all of which have been filed with no further action by the Procureur of the Court in Boulogne.
“The continuous pressure exerted every night is above and beyond that which a concessionaire can reasonably handle and requires a constructive and appropriate response from the governments.”
Within two days, both the French and UK governments had responded to Eurotunnel’s appeal.
On July 30, French minister for the interior Bernard Cazaneuve announced the reinforcement of French Police forces at the Coquelles terminal.
Eurotunnel said it had held a high level technical meeting with senior experts at the Interior Ministry, generating practical recommendations it said would be “put into action rapidly”.
A day later, on July 31, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the government would fund a new program of fencing and additional security guards at the Coquelles site.
Eurotunnel boss Jacques Gounon, welcomed the moves from France and the UK.
“This joint and significant effort by the two governments underlines the vital importance of the Channel Tunnel Fixed Link for international cooperation,” Gounon said.