FRENCH officials plan to spend up to £132,000 of British taxpayers' money on a huge fence to stop migrants harassing locals in a small town near Calais.
A local agency wants to build a 1,000-foot-long, 6½-foot-tall barrier to keep them away from residents. houses and gardens in Gravelines, where dozens of mostly young men wait for gangsters' orders to board boats to cross the canal.
Locals claim the migrants dumped rubbish, set fires and made noise in their makeshift camps, which “disturbed their peace” and made them afraid to let their children out.
The fence will cost between 100,000 and 150,000 euros (£88,000 to £132,000) and a purchase order is expected to be signed “quickly”. Part of the money will be spent on a clean-up operation.
It is being funded out of British pockets as part of the Sandhurst deal, in which the UK funds French patrols, drones and coastal troops to stop crossings that make hundreds of attempts from Gravelines every year.
A local council source said: “The decision to fence off land adjacent to residential properties was taken because people were concerned. The cost of the project will be funded by UK funds.”
Prison hell
Nicolas Sarkozy “lives on a bizarre food for fear of poisoning”
Disgraced king
Andrew ordered to appear before Congress over Epstein connections
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said last night: “When I visited Gravelines SummerI found the French police Actively facilitating illegal immigration by funneling illegal immigrants onto a bus that takes them to a boat dock.
“Now the French are planning to use British taxpayers’ money to stop immigrants harassing locals in France.
“You can't be serious. We shouldn't give the French a cent more until they stop illegal immigrants from crossing the English Channel.”
“The Labor government is so weak it doesn’t have the backbone to stop the boats.”
Reform MP Lee Anderson said: “It is time we held the French to account for their blatant abuse of the British taxpayer and their complicity in the ongoing invasion of our borders.”
“Until we replace this country's weak leadership with true patriots, Britain will continue to be abused and undermined on the world stage. Keir Starmer has made a mockery of us.”
The fence will enclose part of the polder park where migrants live in makeshift camps, awaiting instructions to disembark to cross in rubber boats.
Bertrand Ringot, mayor of Gravelines, said: “As soon as they start causing disruption or damage, I have to start putting up fences.”
Councilor Alan Boonefaes said: “They are cutting down trees to make fires. There is a lot of smoke. And that disturbs the peace of the residents.”
“This summer, some residents couldn't sleep with their windows open. Some were afraid to go out with their children. This moves the problem to another place, to a place where it won't bother anyone. We have no choice.”
The Sandhurst contract was signed in 2018. A three-year, £476m extension was signed in March 2023.
OVERALL, 86 percent of people feel tension between those born in the UK and immigrants, up from 74 percent in 2023, according to a King's College survey London and Ipsos revealed. Half believe the culture is changing too quickly, while 48 percent want the country to be “like it used to be.”