France: Calais mayor calls for refugee camp disbandment as protest continues

Natacha Bouchart, the Mayor of Calais, voiced strong opposition to the city’s so-called refugee ‘jungle’ camp on Monday after truck drivers blocked nearby roads in a major protest calling for the camp to be dismantled.
Bouchart explained why she was participating, stating: “we want to show that we absolutely need to disband this camp and protect the foreigners and the British people who travel across this highway to the port every day. I am here today because the government has not done enough to avoid a situation where we have 9,000 migrants here today."
Expanding on her frustration with the government, she added: “The law doesn't allow us to arrest everybody, and therefore to condemn everybody, we have a big problem here in France. It is necessary that the government also takes charge of modifying the judicial laws to arrest and expel those who cause trouble."
The protesters are demanding that a date be set for the dismantlement of the Jungle, stating that truck drivers are being attacked on a regular basis by refugees attempting to leave Calais. Around 10,000 refugees and migrants are currently staying in the makeshift camp and a minority of them use desperate tactics to get to the UK. According to Jean-Pierre Devigne, a senior official of the FNTR, one France’s truck drivers’ union, the protesters are determined to block the motorway until change happens - even if it takes several days.