Local authorities in Gravelines plan a £132,000 fence, funded by Britain, to keep migrants from residential areas as part of joint border enforcement efforts.
France is planning to build a £132,000 ($173,000), fence in the northern town of Gravelines, near Calais, using funds provided by the United Kingdom under a bilateral border security agreement. The project aims to prevent migrants from entering residential areas as tensions rise between local residents and asylum seekers.
The proposed 1,000-yard barrier, expected to stand about two meters high, will enclose parts of Polder Park, an area where migrants often camp while waiting to cross the English Channel. Local officials say the decision follows months of complaints from residents who report disturbances linked to the growing number of people gathering near their homes.
“The decision has been made to fence off land backing on to residential properties,” a local council source told The Sun. “It’s happened because people were worried. The cost of the project is coming from British funds.”
Gravelines Mayor Bertrand Ringot said that while his administration remains committed to humanitarian principles, it must also address residents’ safety concerns. “Once they start causing disturbance or damage, I have to start putting up fences,” Ringot said.
Read Also: France: Three Inmates Arrested Over Death Threats To Sarkozy
The funding for the project is drawn from money allocated under the Sandhurst Treaty, a 2018 bilateral agreement between London and Paris designed to strengthen cooperation on border management and migration control.
Since the treaty’s implementation, the UK has contributed hundreds of millions of euros to France to enhance coastal patrols and surveillance operations aimed at preventing small boat crossings. These crossings have become the main method of irregular migration to the UK since 2020.
Under a three-year deal signed in March 2023, Britain pledged €541 million ($625 million) in funding through 2026 to bolster French efforts to curb illegal crossings. France also committed to making what officials described as a “substantial and continuing” financial contribution.
In February 2025, both governments extended their cooperation until 2027, redirecting over €8 million ($9 million), of existing funding to support new enforcement plans.
The fence project in Gravelines is one of several local initiatives financed under this framework, reflecting ongoing efforts by both nations to manage migration pressures along the Channel coast.
