Natacha Bouchart says such a move would be illegal, but she wants to send a strong message to Britain

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The mayor of Calais has threatened to shut down the port unless Britain helps to deal with the hundreds of migrants there trying to cross the Channel.

“I could take the decision to block the port ... I could bring pressure to bear,” Natacha Bouchart told reporters in Paris after meeting France’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve.

“It would be illegal,” she recognised, “but today I want to make a strong gesture towards the British.”

Bouchart took issue with the immigration policy of the UK which, she complained, was “considered as an Eldorado” by immigrants.

She also reproached London for demanding increased security at the Calais port without contributing enough to the project, which, she said, cost €10m (£8m) a year.

Bouchart said she had not discussed the possibility of blocking the port with the interior minister, aware that he could not back such a measure.

“But I told him that I hoped he would have some strong negotiations with the British.”

Cazeneuve, who was in London last Friday, had called on the British to help financially with security at the port, a ministerial source said.

Bouchart and Cazeneuve also agreed on opening a day centre in Calais for migrants, many of them from Africa, and a night shelter for women and children.

There are about 1,300 migrants in the northern French port. Most are from Eritrea or Somalia and are hoping to reach England rather than seeking asylum in France.

People fleeing war-torn Syria are adding to the rising numbers.

A Red Cross centre was opened in 1999 but rapidly became overcrowded, holding 2,000 people before it was closed in 2002, rather than the 800 it was built for.