Calais crowded as migrants converge on city en route to Britain

CALAIS, France — A surge of migrants has crowded the northern French port town, turning Calais into a sprawling makeshift settlement as thousands press toward the English Channel in hopes of reaching Britain. A Daily Mail report described the ferry port as the most overwhelmed it has been in years, with the figure of 32,000 people crossing the Channel this year cited as evidence of the intensifying flow across Europe. Most are men from across Africa, the Middle East, and beyond, united by a single objective: London. In the city, charity vans with UK and French plates shuttle between streets and beaches, delivering rice, water, and basic care to those living in woodlands, improvised shelters on the quay, and a tangle of camps that have sprung up around the port area.

The humanitarian response has grown in tandem with the crowds. The Red Cross operates emergency pop-up clinics to treat diseases such as diphtheria and tuberculosis, and the Catholic Church has opened shower blocks in shelters designed to help migrants survive the approaching winter. Notices in dozens of languages line street signs, offering guidance on how to find English toilets, obtain legal counsel, or access charity support. In recent days, French riot police moved to dismantle a woodland settlement housing Eritreans and Ethiopians. Officers arrived in at least 17 vans and cleared roughly 50 people, but the migrants scattered and regrouped nearby, leaving only a bell tent behind. Volunteers on scene described the raids as a recurring pattern that, while unsettling, does not deter the wider movement toward the sea.

Calais’s current state echoes a longer history of the town as a transit point for those seeking a better life in Britain. In 2017, the Jungle camp was cleared by authorities, and migrants were redirected toward Dunkirk or housed elsewhere in France, but the pattern has persisted. The latest wave is driven, in part, by broader restrictions on migration across Europe and a tightening of asylum and welfare policies in several countries. A journalist for the Daily Mail, citing firsthand observations, noted that Calais has once again become a stepping stone on the route to the United Kingdom, with Britain perceived by many migrants as the most reachable option for safety and support despite the risks.

The sentiment among migrants is clear: England remains the destination, and London is the city of hope. “England is our last hope,” one man told reporters, echoing a refrain heard among many gathered in Calais. “We only want London,” another added. The messages cut across nationalities: Eritreans, Ethiopians, Iraqis, Palestinians, Pakistanis, Iranians—and others have described similar paths through Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria, or Denmark before ending up in Calais as they seek to cross the Channel. Some have arrived directly from Italy, where Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has noted a surge of arrivals and argued that migrants continue to reach European shores by traffickers’ boats from Libya.

Among those gathered is Nour, a 25-year-old Iranian who recently departed Bulgaria after months there trying to settle. He spoke at a woodland camp where hundreds of migrants from Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Iran, and Palestine survive on meals and water delivered by charities. “All of us want to sail to England. There is no one here who doesn’t dream of that,” Nour said, drawing nods from friends. A 28-year-old Eritrean described paying £1,000 to traffickers and planning to attempt crossing once winds calm, asserting, “Your country is our last chance.” The accounts illustrate the urgency that keeps the camps active even as national governments tighten borders and humanitarian organizations distribute aid to those living on the margins.

The conditions confronting migrants are stark. Volunteers describe pitifully thin men on bicycles donated by charities, some carrying double mattresses atop improvised trolleys or panniers as they search for somewhere to sleep. Others are barefoot, with worn teeth or frostbitten hands, and many live in fear of eviction as authorities periodically clear encampments. The image that emerges is of a city being reshaped by a continuous influx of people who have felt compelled to seek a future in Britain, regardless of the dangers involved in the sea crossing or the uncertain odds of formal asylum in the United Kingdom. The scale of the movement has also intensified debate across Europe about how to respond to mass migration in a way that is both humane and orderly.

Across the continent, governments have moved to curb arrivals and restrict benefits and housing assistance for newcomers, prompting some migrants to view Britain as the most feasible potential haven. As Calais struggles to manage the human tide, the broader question remains: how will Europe balance border enforcement with humanitarian obligations, and what long-term policy will address the diverse needs of those who arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs and a shared aspiration for a safer future in the United Kingdom? For now, the tide continues to flow toward the Channel, and the people who populate Calais’s camps insist they will not fade from the landscape until they reach a destination they believe awaits them beyond the water.