Sunday ban closes in on Calais routes
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by Juliet Parish • The threat of a blockade of Calais by British truckers looms as the French authorities start tougher enforcement procedures around the port.
The warning comes as 100 UK drivers disembarking last Sunday (17 July) were told they could not leave the port. It appears that France's Sunday LGV ban will now be enforced between the port and Dunkirk. For months there has been an unofficial ban-free zone between Calais and the Belgian border.
Up until now the police turned a blind eye. UK drivers arriving in Calais on a Sunday had the option to drive out of the country without having to park up for a day.
The French authorities agree there is a Sunday driving route, but the so-called Ghyvelde corridor applies only to the Ni between Dunkirk and the Belgian border. Swindon-based Cans Traction driver Mark Lloyd saw at least two Italian and one French truck driver enter the port and get on to a ferry bound for England.
"It really made tempers rise. Drivers were talking about blockading the barrier." Lloyd adds: "I think they were put off by the possibility of riot police being called in and drivers having a gun stuffed up their nose."
Aston Clinton Haulage of Aylesbury had two trucks held at the port, which delayed their deliveries. Its transport manager Dave Fowler plans to use the Dover to Zeebrugge crossing now on Sundays: "We prefer using the Calais route as it allows us to get to Luxembourg three hours earlier."
One of Northampton-based EM Rogers Transport's drivers was held-up but is more resigned: "We're always prepared for possible problems in Calais."
Requests have been made for the corridor to be extended to Calais, Boulogne, and Coquelles (the Channel Tunnel entrance).