France started constructing a wall near the Calais migrant camp Tuesday, in a British-funded effort to prevent refugees from stowing themselves on trucks headed towards the U.K.
The 13-foot tall wall will cost the U.K £1.9 million or $2,477,400 and will run for half a mile along both sides of the city’s main road which leads to Calais’ port. Calais is located in northern France and a 31.4 mile tunnel extends from the city into the British city of Kent. The refugee camp is estimated to be holding around 10,000 individuals who have frequently attempted to stow themselves onto trucks in an effort to reach the U.K.
The wall which has been dubbed “The Great Wall of Calais” will be made of smooth concrete and will serve as an extension of a metal and barbed-wire fence. The fence has not been effective as there were 22,000 port road breaches in June compared to 3,000 breaches in January, according to a French police commissioner.
Will the UK-funded border wall – dubbed the “Great Wall of Calais” – stop migrants entering Britain or is it a waste of taxpayers’ cash? pic.twitter.com/Hd3y21XYhp
— LBC (@LBC) September 20, 2016
The U.K announced in early September the funding for the wall. In July, British government figures showed a migrant attempts to sneak into the U.K every six minutes, the Daily Mail reports.