Police reinforcements sent to Calais to quell migrant violence

France is sending police reinforcements to the port of Calais, where illegal migrants trying to reach Britain are "causing havoc", said the country’s interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

French riot police of the force out immigrants who were hidden in a truck. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

On Tuesday, the local police sealed off an industrial district, trying to restore calm after migrants from Ethiopia and Eritrea were battling each other with sticks.

According to Cazeneuve, the police force will receive an extra 100 officers in order to secure the port, bringing the total to 450.

Recent measures to tighten security in Calais have so far failed to keep illegal migrants from boarding trucks and crossing the Channel.

Many of the migrants are coming from the Horn of Africa, as well as from Syria and other conflict zones.

Britain is seen as having a favourable asylum policy, and many migrants already have family residing there.

To complicate matters further, a 16 year old Ethiopian girl was killed after being hit by
a car while crossing a motorway in the area.

The problem in Calais has been ongoing since 2002, when the French authorities closed down the Sangatte immigrant detention centre after pressure from Britain.

Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart has threatened to shut down the port entirely in protest of London's perceived lack of action.