French Lorry Drivers To Hold Protest Over Hefty Fines For Illegal Immigrants

Fed up HGV drivers are planning a fully fledged protest against hefty immigration fines.

Hundreds of French truckers are expected to head to Folkestone today to demand an end to the steep £2000 fines which are levied against each migrant that has been brought across the Channel in their vehicles.

The lorry drivers are claiming that poor border control in Calais is the major factor which has allowed illegal immigrants to enter and hide in their lorries.

Many transport and haulage companies are going bust due to these hefty penalties.

The president of the French National Road Haulage Federation, David Sagnard, has said
"Many firms can not afford these hefty fines if they are caught in Britain, and some are going bust. If those in charge do not act now to resolve this issue, we plan a blockade."
 

The French drivers are highly expected to be joined by many British truckers who are also claiming they are being unfairly penalized for poor border checks. If the trucker’s voices are not heard they have threatened to blockage the port of Calais.

Precautions need to be taken to help prevent illegal immigrants gaining access to the lorries.

Many haulage companies insist that their drivers padlock their trucks once they have been loaded to help prevent access. From the recent videos scattered all over the internet you can see not every driver adopts this policy.

Some drivers have even been banned from staying overnight within a large radius of Calais by their firm.
The sheer determination and number of migrants is staggering and these precautions are all well and good but certainly not fool proof.

Last month the British government pledged £12m to help towards strengthening Calais they also provided high-security fencing over 11 miles long.

All this came about after a group of 250 immigrants stormed the ferry terminal at the French port in the hope to make it across the Channel.

The UK’s ‘generous’ benefit schemes have been blamed for the large number of migrants trying to illegally cross the Channel. These migrants have traveled the breath of Europe to get into the UK and take advantage of the state benefits.

More measures need to be introduced at Calais and every precaution should be taken by the truck drivers.
Let’s see whether the threatened blockage makes any real difference. Let’s also see whether any changes that are made at Calais get introduced at the other European ports that are experiencing the same issues.

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