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214 
ENTENTE DISCORDIALE
Page 10
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Mr X wonders for how much longer the ever patient British will put up with the suffering caused by the problems at the Port of Calais.
The British by nature are patient, long-suffering people. Apart from the occasional brain-dead football supporter we like to keep our emotions to ourselves, and the world is generally better for it. But for how much longer are we expected to take the two-fingered salute from the Port of Calais, whose actions are costing the haulage industry millions of pounds a day?
It never fails to amaze me that we meekly put up with the disruption caused to so many by so few. Take a handful of belligerent French fishermen or a gang of disgruntled dockers; throw in a legal inquiry and voila—you have economic devastation on a European scale.
We have just been through nearly two months of misery while work is carried out to berths in Calais. The Calais website says three out of nine berths are available for use. But when there Is a strike no berths are in action.
"Let's not forget how deepl Calais is indebted to the British... The least they coul do is show some respect."
So Operation Stack goes into action. Kent braces itself for more misery as businesses between Maidstone and Folkestone, including Mr Prescott's favoured growth area of Ashford, grind to a halt. Thousands of truck drivers from countries near and far, including the French, are stuck on the international lorry park known as the M20, with only the blue portable toilets for comfort. What an unholy, inhumane mess.
Let's not forget how deeply Calais is indebted to the British. In recent years we have boosted the local economy by millions of pounds weekly, possibly daily. Every year we send more than 12 million holidaymakers to France, the vast proportion of whom use the short-sea routes into Calais. We even took their illegal immigrant problem away lock, stock and barrel. The least they could do is to show some respect.
The act of crossing the Channel is not a luxury; for many it is an absolute necessity, as the needs of business and recreation combine to demand regular, dependable costeffective services. When will we see this? I, for one, am not holding my breath.