Thirty forlorn-looking migrants stood on the deck of French navy warship Flamant as she sailed proudly into Calais yesterday morning.
The warship had stopped them in a dinghy two miles from the French coast, as they were heading for Britain via the Channel.
The group of disappointed Iranians and Iraqis made their way to France via the underground gangplank. They were met by waiting Gendarmerie, who then took them for fingerprinting in a secured centre high above the port.
Patrol: After being picked-up in Channel, migrants are returned to Flamant by the Flamant.
Calais saw the arrival of Flamant, its human cargo and the Flamant in Calais. This was a very first display by the French of doing what Britain needs: stopping migrants from crossing 21 miles of narrow ocean to start a new life for themselves in Britain.
A display of Gallic cooperation was underway 20 miles away from Dunkirk’s coast when the warship entered berth.
The last remnants of a giant camp, emptied of migrants’ bell tents by French police on Tuesday, were being totally destroyed so no one can ever return to live there again.
It was used as a landing place for hundreds of thousands of immigrants awaiting to sail to Britain. It was run by people traffickers using guns to maintain order as they organised boat places for up to £6,000 a head.
In a military-style operation, officers in white hazmat suits moved in at nine with bulldozers and fork-lift trucks to remove the mountains of rubbish – ranging from supermarket trolleys to babies’ cots – left behind by the 1,500 camp residents.
A police tractor was brought in to clear away the former camp site. It is now impossible for migrants or refugees to build tents on the same spot if they want to go back.
Police also sealed off the area yesterday, after evacuating impromptu settlements that had been set up in the forest nearby.
For protection from police raids, they climbed tall trees. To hide, they ran deeper into the forest, dragging gas bottles, chairs, mattress pallets and mattresses as well as life jackets (to be used for future boat crossings).
Many hundred, including women with babies and mothers, were abandoned on Dunkirk roadsides, with no clue as to where they would go.
Calais police watch: Disembarking
There were pitiful sights of entire families pushing their possessions in shopping trolleys along the port’s streets as they searched for shelter for the night.
An Iranian couple and their four children, aged between six and seven, were waiting outside the forest bus station. A baby in arms, as well as a 7-month-old girl sucking on a dummy, was also there.
‘We are desperate,’ said the father Mohsen, 38, gazing down protectively at his dark-haired wife holding the baby and looking scared.
‘We are catching the bus so we can join others who have set up a tiny new camp of tents near the sea. We hope the police do not find it.’
Aland, a 17-year old Iraqi national who had been living in France for three week and was waiting at the bus stop alongside them.
On their way: Jogger’s video of migrants hauling dinghy into the sea
He said when his tent was pulled down by police at the shanty camp earlier this week he had ‘slept on the ground’ without any cover in the forest.
Yesterday saw some homeless migrants being taken by coaches to France by French authorities. They will then be processed at reception centres located all over the country and granted asylum.
However, most people refused to board the transport waiting for them.
‘We don’t trust the French,’ explained a bearded young migrant with a crutch and a limp. ‘They don’t want us here which is why we try for England and we will keep trying.
‘We may not be able to camp in Dunkirk any more, but there are lots of places along the coast where we will start again.
‘We have to live near the sea so we can get the boats to your country.’ The crackdown came after the total number of migrants crossing the Channel to Britain reached 1,000 in a single day again on Tuesday.
The footage captured asylum seekers cheering, clapping, and jumping as they launched their boat on Calais’ beaches. Franck Viandier, local jogger has recorded even more shocking videos showing French police standing by while migrants pile into dinghies.
He said: ‘Sometimes there is a lot of police, I can see they fight sometimes. But they say to me, “It is not our job to fight with these people. These people want to go to England and we are French police”.’
French officers are seen standing on the shore with their hands in their pockets.
However, the shocking number crossings during the week seemed to have finally motivated the gendarmerie with only 66 reaching the UK by Wednesday.
Yesterday’s numbers were lower than expected, even though conditions are better due to increased patrols.
The Home Office was still trying to confirm the exact numbers from Tuesday due to the high volume, but sources said it was ‘around 1,000’ and could eclipse the previous high of 1,185 recorded last week.
The number of migrants arriving in the country this month is at least 3,941 and the total for 2015 stands at 23,683.