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Roundup: Heightened security measures in Calais insufficient, say experts

Xinhua, August 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

Facing increasing attempts by migrants in Calais, France trying to enter Eurotunnel to get to Britain, French and British authorities have decided to reinforce existing security measures.

But emigration experts have said reinforced security will not help much.

Since June 1, a dozen migrants in Calais died while passing through the Eurotunnel. Hundreds of attempts were made by migrants to penetrate the tunnel to reach Britain between Aug. 1 and 7 alone.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said some 120 additional police officers would be sent to Calais to secure the Eurotunnel site.

He also announced deepened cooperation with Britain that would put an additional 10 million euros (10.96 million U.S. dollars) for securing the Eurotunnel.

The British government has also announced a new bill aiming to impose criminal penalties against landlords rent to illegal immigrants.

Damian Green, British Immigration Minister, announced further reforms on asylum. "Many of them (migrants) come here to have a better life. That is why we try to break this perception of being a country where the streets are paved with gold," Green told French broadcaster BFMTV.

"That is why we want to reform asylum. If people are not legitimate to demand this right, we will cut the benefits they receive," he added.

But for Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research, the measures taken by France and Britain have not solved the problems that have lasted for more than 10 years in Calais.

"The escalated security measures won't do anything but cause more deaths. If we stop people from passing through (the tunnel), there will be danger," she told French media.

Pierre Henry, director of French NGO France Terre d'Asile, said on RTL radio: "We are not going to solve the migration question with 120 more police officers."

He called on French authorities to find a political solution to this crisis, accusing France to be "the armed wing of the Britain that has outsourced its border controls on French territory." Endit