France police use chemicals to suppress refugees at Channel Tunnel
Riot police in France have used a chemical irritant to suppress an attempt by nearly 200 refugees to break down a security fence at the entrance of the Channel Tunnel, which connects the UK to France.
French officers sprayed the migrants with the chemical late on Saturday, forcing the group to retreat as they attempted to breach the final fence near the entrance of the 50-kilometer tunnel under the English Channel.
The migrants, who broke down several security fences, faced off with French police forces for nearly an hour, chanting slogans such as “Open the border” and “We are not animals.”
Thousands of migrants have been climbing fences near the tunnel in recent weeks, in a bid to hop on freight trains or trucks destined for the UK.
One male refugee was recently fatally crushed by a truck at the site.
Meanwhile, French and British interior ministers described the nightly efforts by migrants to gain access to Britain as part of a “global migration crisis” that requires a global solution.
In an article jointly authored by British Home Secretary Theresa May and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and published in the UK’s Sunday Telegraph and France’s Journal du Dimanche, the two officials said that halting the flow of migrants was “the top priority” for both governments.
They said many migrants regarded the streets of Europe as “paved with gold,” adding, “We must break the link between crossing the Mediterranean and achieving settlement in Europe for economic reasons.”
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