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Mariah Carey blasts through a speaker next to a closed restaurant in central Calais, but all the locals seem to want for Christmas is a break from Brexit. For many, fatigue with the process set in several years ago. Since then, that fatigue has been exacerbated by the current health crisis. Business owners here say their main concern is primarily Covid-19.
While French closure restrictions have been relaxed, restaurants, bars and cultural venues remain closed. The holiday period is traditionally quiet in Calais, but with only the essential retailers open now, the streets of the port city are almost empty.
It was feared that Calais would now face a repeat of the traffic chaos suffered by truck drivers here and in the UK in the run-up to Christmas. French customs officials say that disruption is unlikely to be repeated after the Brexit transition period officially ends at midnight (French time).
‘I hope to see an increase in the number of English tourists starting in the New Year. They will come to buy cheap alcohol and cigarettes, even if they have to fill out forms’
Thibaut Rougelot, head of regional communications with the French customs service, says the new infrastructure installed at the Calais terminal ferry, costing € 13 million, should help ensure smooth transit for inbound traffic and departure. But he admits there may be some early problems as drivers get used to post-Brexit business rules.
“If they are delayed here in Calais because they have not completed their customs declarations correctly online, they will know what to do the next time they travel through the port. There may be some difficulties at first. “
He says many companies started stocking products in warehouses in the UK and Europe earlier this month to avoid being caught up in potential delays in Dover or Calais.
‘A disaster’
While the first direct ferries from Ireland to Cherbourg and Dunkirk are expected to be full starting this weekend, truck drivers appear to be avoiding Calais, at least for now.
Philippe Galloux is originally from Paris, but has worked as a taxi driver in northern France for the past three years. He says there were thousands of vehicles stuck in the rear stretching 50 km towards the Belgian border for several days last week. “It was a disaster,” he says.
“Fortunately, things are much better now, but Brexit is a shame. It complicates everything. The British are free to make their own decisions and to do what they want, of course, but I think the next UK government will reverse this chaos. They will want Britain to rejoin the EU. I think whatever happens with Brexit, British tourists will still want to come to Calais. “
There is widespread optimism that this number of tourists will increase thanks to the return of duty-free trade between France and the United Kingdom. Christophe Auchede, owner of the L’Atelier du Chocolat boutique on Rue Royale, the main street in Calais, says that twenty years ago the city was a thriving tourist spot.
“A lot of people used to come here from England,” he says. “The restaurants, the bars, the wine shops did a great business. Brexit won’t really change anything for my business, but I expect the number of English tourists to increase starting in the New Year. They will come to buy cheap alcohol and cigarettes, even if they have to fill out forms. “
But others, like 52-year-old Calais native Claude Fernández, say they will no longer make regular trips across the English Channel.
“It is going to be too complicated now. I used to love going to Dover to spend the day with my kids, but now there will be statements to complete. In addition to that, we will have to do a Covid test to return to France. It’s a double restriction. “
For now, he is happy to come to the port every day to fish and watch the ferries sail through the port.
A refrigerated truck on an access road near the Euro Tunnel in Calais on New Years Eve. Photograph: Cyril Marcilhacy / Bloomberg
Greater security
Calais is also seen as a gateway to Britain for the thousands of immigrants who make the dangerous journey to Dover each year. Security has been tightened in and around the city before January 1, amid concerns that there may be an increase in the number of people trying to cross the English Channel. Another four hundred gendarmes (police officers) and members of the security forces have been deployed to the area, and police vans can be seen making regular patrols around the city.
Instead of taking refuge in trucks, many migrants now risk their lives climbing into small boats or rafts to cross the Canal. An estimated 8,000 people arrived in Britain by this method this year, while French authorities intercepted another 5,000 people trying to make the trip.
Even for migrants, this New Year’s Eve feels like the calm before the Brexit storm. Of the dozens who gathered for bagels and tea from a charity in an industrial park on the outskirts of the city this morning, the majority openly expressed their desire to reach the UK.
“Yes, we all want to go there,” said a Sudanese in his 20s.
“But today we can’t because there are no trucks.”
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