PARIS (AP) – Concern about immigration and a wish for stricter border controls were important factors in Britain’s vote to leave the European Union last week.
But the mayor of Calais in northern France hopes the neighbor’s decision to quit the bloc can have a reverse effect and eventually help unravel a deal that has kept migrants attempting to reach Britain trapped on the French side of the English Channel.
The French-British bilateral Touquet Treaty was signed in 2003 with the aim to stop migrants from crossing the channel. It effectively moved Britain’s southern border to northern France, allowing British police, customs officials and their sniffer dogs to operate around Calais.
Bilateral deals aren’t legally affected by a British exit from the EU and French leaders haven’t shown any appetite to undo the Touquet Treaty for now, but Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart hopes they can use the June 23 referendum result to gradually start chipping away at the deal and squeeze more concessions out of Britain in its hour of vulnerability.
Because of the agreement, Calais’ economy and image have suffered, Bouchart says.