Beware of traveling via Calais
On Saturday 25th November my Motorhome was attacked by a gang of violent migrants on the road from St Omer to Calais. Fortunately I managed to steer around the road block, but not without them damaging the side of the Motorhome. The police were doing their best to round them up but they were numerous groups along the road. I later learned that the police shot several of them as they were threatening the police.
There has been little or no publicity to this, and I would warn anyone travelling via Calais to be on their guard.
I have no intention of travelling via Calais again in the near future. I have a frequent traveler account with Eurotunnel . However despite explaining why I will not travel that way again refuse to refund the cost of my unused crossings . BEWARE.
Moderator Comment - This is not really a story so I have moved to the Overseas Sites and Touring section of the discussion area.
Comments
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I had a short trip to France in late August this year and used the Dover – Calais route using P&O. No sign at all of any “migrants” on both the outward in home journeys. I wouldn’t hesitate to use the route again.
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If you use the tunnel or the ferry you arrive directly onto the Autoroute. Difficult to see how crowds of migrants could block the motorway.
In all the times we have used the tunnel (twice a year for many years) we have never seen one migrant. To be fair though, we never use the local roads around the immediate Calais area.
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I could'nt get the original post up "page not available" kept coming up.SO,,,went in via the reply from' hitchglitch' Still the problem exists over there then !!
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Triky
I was finding the same earlier but OK now. Its probably because I moved it from the Story Section which it sometimes doesn't like!!!
David
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No the whole of the furom was inaccessible if you logged on, only the front page was available.
I have two tunnel crossing booked and as HG says you are straight out onto the autoroute so I cannot imagine there will be any problems during the daytime. I am certainly not about to change my mind.
peedee
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We stopped using Dover a few years ago and they were at the side of the Autoroute even then. We now use Caen but even there they are along the Canal near Riva Bella with one Brit finding somebody in their van (thats from the "horses mouth` not hear say) Having said that all you can do is take care and avoid things like travelling at night in the affected areas.
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Nobody should leave their van or Motorhome unlocked if they are away from it, particularly around the channel ports. In fact, customs often ask if the van has been locked since your last stop.
Its possible you could see migrants on the hard shoulder of the Autoroute but they would be risking death to attempt to stop a vehicle.
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Or a different google - and you get this (dated 25/11/2017) which is the same incident, as reported in a French paper, and as the OP says, on the N road between St Omer and Calais - and a translation follows for those who don't read French easily (co Google translate)
A fight between migrants erupted this Saturday, late afternoon, road Saint-Omer to Calais. Shots were fired, four Afghans shot were taken care of by the relief workers. The axis Calais-Ardres was cut to the circulation time of the intervention of the help and the police force. It would be a settling of accounts between smugglers.A brawl between migrants erupted this Saturday, around 17:45 at the premises of Secours Catholique de la Route de Saint-Omer, Calais. After throwing sticks and throwing stones, shots were fired. Four Afghans were shot and wounded: one was shot in the chest and one in the foot, according to a witness.
The fight was over shortly after 6 pm An important relief device has been deployed in the parking lot of the local producers' shop at Les Tastes de la Ferme, nearby. Firefighters and CRS intervened in the premises of Secours Catholique and police officers quickly deployed around the center, torches in hand, to search for the author of the shots. The latter was not arrested.
The traffic on the road of Saint-Omer was cut until the beginning of evening since the roundabout of Virval to allow the intervention of the help and the police force.
As a reminder, Secours Catholique offers in its premises showers and latrines for migrants present in the Calais.
Several brawls have broken out between migrants in Calais since the dismantling of the "jungle" last November. On 22 August, a brawl between 100 and 150 Afghan and Eritrean migrants left five people injured and led to 27 arrests. In early summer, on 1 July, an Eritrean man was seriously injured during a brawl that involved nearly 200 migrants. A few months earlier, on April 25, eleven migrants had been wounded in clashes.
The last brawl dates back to 21 September: seven migrants were wounded, including four by stabbing, in clashes in Norway Square.
I think we sometimes dismiss these things just a bit too easily, and whilst the majority of us have had many completely uneventful trips via Calais there are undoubtedly incidents which are very threatening, to those such as the original poster.
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Had a migrants the inside port of calais three years ago so two years ago went the tunnel we had a migrants inside the tunnel while waiting to board was scared didn't feel safe at all. So sat in locked car with a mallet at the ready. Not been back. But hope to go next year Via Caen
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It certainly wouldn’t be sensible to be complacent about the potential risks around the Calais area but to put this in perspective, 30 million travellers per year use Calais to get to and from the UK. So, yes, be aware of what is happening but don’t let it stop you using Calais to get to Europe.
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Thanks for that ValDa. The map in the Voix de Nord report is quite helpful since it show clearly that this was not on the (free at that point) autoroute and the photos also show that it was dark at the time.
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We have only been camping for the past 5 years but have been on the continent twice a year, mainly via Calais on the train. You cannot dismiss the possibility of the motorways getting blocked by disputes. Over many years I have personally been held up by disputes, but never immigrants. However since we have been travelling with the motorhome I have read & seen news on the TV of migrants blockading the motorway entering Calais, having blocked it with trees. Then I recall more recently a migrant was hit by a car on the motorway near the tunnel. I personally have seen many migrants on the motorway in this area both on the hard shoulder and also in the central reservation, so they do go onto the motorway and to think they do not is naïve. We see many more in the adjacent fields. Whilst I will continue to travel to the continent I am always very aware of my surroundings and ready for migrant problems, particularly near the ports. As an aside we even saw a group of apparent migrants sheltering in a picnic area on the A23 motorway between Valencia & Zaragoza, Spain in October this year so it's not just near Calais you have to be on your guard. Regards, Roy
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