Police at tunnel stop foreigners

Migrants test French border

COQUELLES, France -- French riot police have sprayed foreigners with a chemical irritant as they tried to storm the Channel Tunnel, and the British and French interior ministers said the nightly attempts to reach Britain are part of a "global migration crisis" that needs an international solution.

The people, who broke down several security fences late Saturday, were forced to retreat by riot police as they attempted to breach the final fence near the entrance of the 30-mile tunnel under the English Channel.

They faced off for close to an hour with security forces, chanting slogans including "Open the border" and "We are not animals."

Thousands of people have been scaling fences near the tunnel, often referred to as the Chunnel, in recent weeks, trying to hop on freight trains or trucks destined for Britain. One man was fatally crushed by a truck.

Many have fled war, dictatorship and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, entering Europe through Greece or Italy before heading north. Many think Britain offers the best prospects, because of the English language, welfare benefits and the perceived ease of getting a job.

The activity at the tunnel and a series of strikes by French ferry workers have disrupted freight and passenger traffic, and spurred both governments to promise higher fences, more surveillance cameras and extra security guards.

In an article published in Britain's Sunday Telegraph and France's Journal du Dimanche, British Home Secretary Theresa May and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said stopping the flow of people was "the top priority" for both governments.

"This situation cannot be seen as an issue just for our two countries," they wrote.

The ministers said in their letter that many of the migrants trying to cross the Channel to Britain had passed through Italy, Greece and other countries. "That is why we are pushing other member states -- and the whole of the EU -- to address this problem at root," they wrote.

The governments are keen to show a united front on this issue, but many British politicians have criticized France for supposedly lax security at the tunnel.

The ministers said the addition of 120 police officers and other security measures around the Calais terminal had led to a fall in the number of migrants gaining access to the tunnel. Eurotunnel, which operates the tunnel, said Sunday that trains from both Britain and France were operating on schedule.

But the ministers wrote that the "long-term answer" to the migrant problem lay in discouraging migrants from trying to reach Europe in hopes of bettering their economic circumstances. "Our streets are not paved with gold," they wrote. "We must help African countries to develop economic and social opportunities so that people want to stay."

"We must break the link between crossing the Mediterranean and achieving settlement in Europe for economic reasons," they wrote.

Information for this article was contributed by Andrew Drake, Thomas Adamson and Jill Lawless of The Associated Press and by Stanley Reed of The New York Times.

A Section on 08/03/2015

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