THE mayor of Calais says migrants living in the Jungle camp and others in France should be moved to Britain so Brits “take the consequences” of Brexit. Natacha Bouchart wants a revision of the border deal between France and the UK, which at the moment sees border checks carried out in Calais to stop those trying to get to Britain illegally.
Speaking on French TV station BFM, she said: “The British must take the consequences of their choice.
“We are in a strong position to push, to press this request for a review and we are asking the president [Francois Hollande] to bring his weight [to the issue].”
“It is we who accept the hot potato.”
The mayor says Britain voting for Brexit undermines the so-called Touquet deal reached between the two countries in 2003 which defined the rules of border control between France and Britain.
Ms Bouchart said the deal requires renegotiation and said: “there must be an element of division, of sharing.”
Her view is backed up by the president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand, who said: “The English wanted to take back their freedom, they must take back their border.”
Earlier this year he referred to the Touquet treaty as “obsolete and outdated”.
But a French government spokeswoman said Brexit would not affect bilateral immigration agreements.
She said: “On the question of immigration, to be clear, British exit from the European Union will not lead to changes in terms of immigration treaties with United Kingdom.
“These are bilateral treaties.”