Renewed appeal against migrant conditions

A group of associations and individuals has revived an appeal first made in 2015, focusing on the worsening conditions for migrants along the French coast. The appeal notes that by 2026, there are no longer just "one" but multiple "jungles" — informal settlements — stretching from Dunkerque to Berck, where between 2,000 and 3,000 people live in a state of administrative limbo.

Original appeal and its goals

The initial appeal, signed by nearly 50,000 citizens and 800 public figures in October 2015, was crafted by members of the Collective of Filmmakers for the "stateless." It was directed at the French government, calling for a comprehensive emergency plan to end the dehumanizing conditions in the Calais jungle and criticizing the lack of government engagement.

Government action and its consequences

In October 2016, the French government dismantled the Calais jungle, evicting its residents and dispersing them across the country. While the operation was praised in the media, it did not offer a lasting solution for those who did not want to stay in France, including many unaccompanied minors. Since then, these individuals and others have returned to the coast, leading to the current spread of multiple informal settlements.

Longstanding repressive policy

The "zero fixed point" policy, which has been in place since the 1990s, mandates expulsions every 48 hours, the seizure of personal belongings, limited access to services, and obstacles to support from others. This policy has faced criticism for being harsh and inhumane. At least 559 people have died attempting to reach the United Kingdom since the 1990s, including 22 children in 2024 and 2025.

Shift from disengagement to repression

Public authorities have moved from a policy of disengagement to active repression, endangering both migrants and those who assist them. France and the United Kingdom have invested over 1.5 billion euros since 2018 in hostile measures instead of providing hospitality. Measures such as barbed wire, expulsions, and the construction of barriers have caused deaths and exhaustion, extending the border from Calais to Cherbourg and into Belgium.

Criminalizing support for migrants

Criminalizing solidarity and hospitality has become a hallmark of current policies, with political leaders endorsing this approach. Despite this, coastal residents, volunteers, and associations continue to support migrants, resisting the normalization of inhumane conditions. Calais has become a "laboratory" for policies that challenge human rights at European borders, from the Mediterranean to the English Channel.

Reinstatement of restrictive regulations

Since 2016, the Dublin regulation has been restored, limiting people's access to asylum. The European pact on migration and asylum, effective this year, has tightened screening at European borders. A recent Franco-British agreement, "one in one out," has ended, repatriating hundreds of migrants from the United Kingdom to France without a permanent solution. Far-right groups in Britain have spread hate in migrant camps, using myths like "air appeal" and "great replacement" to justify their rejection.

Renewed appeal's demands

The collective calls for an end to repressive and security-focused measures, including expulsions and the "zero fixed point" policy, and demands dignified housing solutions. It also requests respect for the free choice of the asylum country, including the suspension of the ReGAM regulation, and an end to the criminalization of solidarity. The appeal urges Franco-British cooperation focused on hospitality and the opening of legal and safe routes rather than repression.

Prominent signatories of the appeal

Among the signatories of the renewed appeal are Annie Ernaux, Nobel Prize for Literature; Camille Etienne, activist and author; Marina Foïs, actress; Adèle Haenel, actress; Edouard Louis, writer; Corinne Masiero, actress; Guillaume Meurice, comedian; Yolande Moreau, actress; Geoffroy de Lagasnerie, philosopher; Didier Eribon, philosopher; Didier Fassin, professor at the Collège de France; Danièle Lochak, academic and former president of the Gisti; Frédéric Lordon, philosopher; Françoise Vergès, author; Jean-François Corty, president of Médecins du monde; Isabelle Defourny, president of Médecins sans frontières; Yann Manzi, founder and general director of Utopia 56; Bruno Morel, president of Emmaüs France; Anne Savinel-Barras, president of Amnesty International France; and Nathalie Tehio, president of the LDH (Ligue des droits de l'homme / Human Rights).