The Calais Migrant Crisis escalates as ‘hundreds’ of migrants and activists storm the port, and some occupy a ferry in a four hour drama. Authorities face renewed calls to solve the security situation once and for all.

Also, tracking the snow as it moves eastwards on our traffic cameras. British driver in wrong-way tragedy in Spain. A major Brussels tunnel shuts for a year. Big lead for pro-Gotthard II supporters.

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MIGRANTS OCCUPY FERRY IN CALAIS

Port eventually reopens after hundreds of migrants gain access to port and P&O ferry.  

P&O’s Spirit of Britain occupied by migrants in Calais. Photo @CalaisSolidarity

Calais port has finally reopened after ‘hundreds’ of migrants stormed the port and occupied a P&O ferry.

DFDS continued to run services to Dunkirk from Dover but Eurotunnel is closed overnight due to a planned security exercise.

DFDS first raised the alarm at around 16:30GMT saying, ‘The Port of Calais has been temporarily closed due to a migrant invasion, as soon as they are cleared the Port will re-open.’

Soon afterwards, the Mayor of Calais Natacha Bouchart tweeted to say, ‘Hundreds of migrants, supervised by demonstrators entered the port. About fifty migrants boarded a ferry.’

Then @CalaisSolidarity said the migrants had ‘occupied’ P&O’s Spirit of Britain which they wrongly identified as a DFDS ship, a firm they described as a ‘racist corporation’.

At 18:00GMT, P&O said, ‘The Port of Calais is resolving a security incident. As a result our vessels are subject to a delay of between 90 and 120 minutes.’

Videos posted on the internet showed a large crowd of migrants streaming through the fence.

At 19:30 @RubenRRus told us, ‘I’m on board a DFDS ferry entering Calais, we’ve been told by the Captain the port is clear now and we’ll dock in 20mins’. 

@InfosFrancaise said police had cleared the migrants off the ferry (later adding that ’24 migrants and 11 members of an association to support migrants were detained’).

However, just after 20:00GMT P&O said, ‘Port of Calais still resolving the security incident. But vessels now being allowed to dock, loading should commence soon.’ 

The incident follows a pro-migrant demonstration in Calais today, and a visit by UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn to Grand-Synthe camp near Dunkirk.

The aftermath: P&O tweeted at 22:00GMT to say the incident was now resolved. Services eventually got back on track at 02:00. Meanwhile, the President of the Port of Calais called a crisis meeting on the security situation according to @InfosFrancaise as enhanced screening measures were introduced for vehicles arriving at Dover reported @SimonJonesNews. On Sunday morning, the RHA Road Haulage Association repeated its call for the French army to deploy in Calais. However, a statement from French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve later made no mention of armed forces. Cazeneuve said 350 migrants were removed from the port, and that 35 people were arrested, 26 migrants on the boat and nine ‘militant’. Fifteen people are in custody.

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Berliners woke to snow this morning, part of a band of wintery weather stretching down to Munich and the Austrian Alps. Luckily for skiing fans driving to and from the World Cup downhill competition at Kitzbuhel, the snow moved steadily eastwards through the day. See more at traffic webcams

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roundup: SPAIN. An English driver allegedly on the wrong side of the road crashed head-on into a German cycling team near Alicante reports Reuters (via Daily Mail Wires). The six riders were all taken to hospital but their injuries are not life-threatening says a statement from Team Giant Alpecin. It continues, ‘During the training ride, a car coming [from] the other direction rode into the group of riders head-on. The riders were riding side by side on their own side of the road’. The incident occurred near the team base at Calpe (Calp), on the coast forty miles north of Alicante. There is no news yet on what charges the driver faces. BRUSSELS. N24 Stefania Tunnel, south west from the Pentagon little ring road around the city centre – near the Palais de Justice complex and designer shops on Boulevard de Waterloo – will close for at least the next twelve months. A fuller inspection during its closure last week – after cracks were discovered in the ceiling – revealed fundamental structural problems (and resulted in some traffic chaos). The local authority is working on a ‘mobility plan’ to bypass the site but, in the meantime, through traffic is advised to avoid the Louisa district completely says Deredactie.be. SWITZERLAND. An opinion poll ahead of next month’s 28 February referendum on whether to build a second – temporary – Gotthard Road Tunnel shows 64 percent in favour. Those against are at 29% and undecideds at 7% according to SwissInfo.ch. Such a large gap is surprising since opponents are well organised and funded, and won a previous vote. However, the key issue is safety says a political scientist. Meanwhile, SwissInfo.ch has a comprehensive cribsheet on the views for and against the project which should be completed in 2030.

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Eurotunnel seems determined to sell its remaining MyFerryLink vessel despite the Competition authority apparently being open to putting it into service, and the trouble it might cause with the union.

Also, a quick look at Mercedes’ impressive winter off-road course in Kitzbuehel. France paves the way for ‘solar roads’. Heroic sub-zero recovery for Norwegian car owner. Madrid prepares to ban all cars during peak pollution.

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AWKWARD QUESTION ON EUROTUNNEL FERRY SALE

Channel Tunnel reaps rewards despite headwinds on migrants, and the ferry union.

Eurotunnel was absolutely right to say at the presentation of its 2015 results today that, ‘Since the strengthening of security measures at the end of October, the Coquelles site has not experienced any intrusion causing disruption to traffic.’

But while the site itself is secure, traffic queueing on the A16 motorway – specifically trucks – continues to be vulnerable.

After a night of rioting in The Jungle camp, ‘hundreds’ of migrants attempted to board trucks queuing into the terminal at lunchtime today. It was the first disturbance since Christmas Day.

Driver @RoamingMan said on Twitter, ‘Lots of activity around Eurotunnel at Calais. Hundreds of CRS police lining motorway and junctions.’

Still, as with P&O, the situation does not appear to be holding Eurotunnel back, too much.

Revenue increased by 5% last year to €1.222 billion on the back of record truck volumes, though the number of cars fell by 1% (compared to a tourist market which shrank by 2.7% says the firm).

Meanwhile, Eurotunnel’s MyFerryLink problem refuses to go away.

Earlier this week, the CMA Competition and Markets Authority published an update on its recent successful appeal to prevent the Channel Tunnel operator running ferry services from Dover.

However, it repeated its offer to look again at allowing Eurotunnel to run a freight-only service with its remaining former-MyFerryLink ship Nord Pas de Calais.

In a statement it said, ‘The CMA will consider any requests it receives from Groupe Eurotunnel to vary the CMA’s remedy order (including in relation to the Nord Pas de Calais freight vessel).’

This is awkward for Eurotunnel since the decision to sell the ship – putting 150 jobs at stake, all earmarked for former MyFerryLink staff – saw union boss Eric Vercoutre threaten the firm yesterday, shortly after his men blockaded the DFDS berth at Calais.

Eurotunnel is yet to respond publicly to the CMA’s offer.

DFDS is also accused of not living up to promises made to end the strike in the summer. It has apparently only employed 74 of the 202 MyFerryLink staff who were expecting jobs.

The CEO of DFDS France Jean-Claude Charlo told La Voix du Nord he ‘regretted the lack of interest’ shown by the workers.

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Mercedes’ winter off-road course near Kitzbuehel, west Austria, looks like the real deal. Drivers tackle slopes of up to 80% in and around the stone quarry at Oberndorf. The full range of recently refreshed Mercedes SUVs are available to drive though, clearly, the one to go for is the perennial G-Class, above. The courses run daily from 27 December until 28 February. Prices start at €155 per half day. See more pictures here, or request more information via the Facebook page.

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roundup: FRANCE. Ecology minister Segolene Royale wants 1000km of ‘solar roads’ in place within five years. Tests will start this year based on technology unveiled last year by Colas – called Watt Way – which sees solar cells embedded in a road surface tough enough to withstand the heaviest vehicles reports Le Monde. Just 1km of solar road can generate enough electricity to light a town of 5000 inhabitants. NORWAY. A man in Randesund heard his car being stolen in the middle of the night and rushed outside without even getting dressed. In temperatures of -17C, the 25-year old jumped onto the roof as the car sped away and clung on for several kilometres at speeds of up to 90kmh before smashing the back window with his knee and grappling with the thief until the car came to a stop according to The Rakyat Post. ‘It’s not what we advise people to do but now he’s done it, it’s really an incredible story,’ said the local police chief. MADRID. Stuttgart’s ‘dust alert’ which saw drivers asked to leave their cars at home – and residents not to use their fires – comes to an end at midnight on Friday. This week’s Paris pollution episode passed without any major restrictions too. Meanwhile, in Madrid today, the city council voted to ban all cars in the event of the most serious pollution peak reports El Pais English. Two new scenarios have been established, on top of the existing stage one speed limit cut to 70kmh on the M-30 ring road, and stage two parking ban within the M-30. Stage three will be a Paris-style ‘alternate traffic’ depending on the last number of a vehicle’s registration plate. Stage four will be a complete ban of all – at least private – vehicles. We understand the city will also give more notice of the various stages so commuters can plan better – currently restrictions are not announced until early in the morning on the day in question so as not to ban traffic unnecessarily.

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Haulier considers options after a flash blockade in Calais, as the Migrant Crisis simmers next door.

Also, Aston Martin finishes a European tour with James Bond’s DB10. Booming Brittany Ferries launches new Spain freight-ferry. Another landslide on winter sports Grenoble-Briancon road. French national traffic monitor closes down.

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CALAIS STRIKE ‘WARNING’ TO DFDS AND EUROTUNNEL

Eurotunnel will be next says union boss.

Photo via Radio6

The industrial action at Calais this afternoon was thankfully short lived but it served to highlight the fragile situation at the major French port.

Around fifty former MyFerryLink workers blocked the DFDS berth with burning tyres, and occupied the firm’s booking office, from mid-morning to early afternoon.

Kevin Hopper, boss of Brian Yeardley Continental said, ‘Great, more industrial Action at Calais. HAPPY NEW YEAR! We are diverting our fleet again to other safer ports.’

Protesters say DFDS has not fulfilled commitments made to end the strike over the summer.

They claim that 350 out of the 402 seamen promised jobs are still out of work according to La Voix du Nord.

This includes the 150 workers due to be taken on by Eurotunnel which abandoned plans to run a freight-only ferry service after a Competition ruling in December.

Today’s incident comes after a meeting between the union and the French minister of Transport on Monday. 

Afterwards, union boss Eric Vercoutre had said he would take legal action against both DFDS and Eurotunnel.

This afternoon however, he told AFP the flash strike was a warning to DFDS and added, ‘the next will be shortly against Eurotunnel.’

Meanwhile, work to clear The Jungle migrant camp from within 100 meters of the Calais port road started on Monday and is expected to take two weeks.

Despite many of the migrants being reluctant to move, the process has so far been without major incident.

However, two earth movers were set on fire at the weekend, and two Dutch journalists were attacked, on camera, last Friday.

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Aston Martin ends its ‘Built for Bond’ tour with the DB10 made ‘specially for Spectre. The eighteen stop trip which began in Cannes in September saw the not-for-public-consumption supercar journey from Stockholm to Barcelona visiting dealers along the way, all in a transparent transporter built by TheClearIdea.com. The London-based supplier also hosted a similar jaunt for the new Ford GT Le Mans racer. Aston Martin is proving adept at on-road advertising. The latest spy shots of its upcoming DB11, said to be very reminiscent of DB10, featured large logos for tyre partner Bridgestone.

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roundup: CROSSING THE CHANNEL. Thanks to ‘strong growth’, particularly in the unaccompanied trailers market, Brittany Ferries starts a new freight-only service between the UK and Spain in early February. The new ship Pelican is chartered from Maritime Nantaise. It has a capacity of around 100 trailers and twelve drivers and will operate two round trips per week between Poole and Bilbao. Brittany Ferries saw a 20% increase in freight volumes last year while 2016 has started strongly, the firm says. The new route will operate for one year initially with the option to extend. FRANCE. Another landslide on the D1091 Grenoble-Briancon road, at Mont de Lans. It is not as serious, and will not take as long to clear, as the previous landslide which cut the same road at Lake Chambon in April, but the local diversion is not suitable for vehicles 3.5t+ reports Autoroute.info. The temporary road around the lake which opened in December is not anyway suitable for large vehicles, or transit traffic. In this case, drivers should divert on the N85 + N94 via Gap, or A43 via Frejus Tunnel (with discount tickets available from Serre-Chevalier tourist office, see more). Update: @TRAFrhonalp tweeted later to say the landslide has already been cleared. Also, national traffic monitor Bison Fute is to close down. The seven regional centres shut up shop on 1 May according to police union UNSA. The move is to cut costs but also a recognition that technology has moved on in the forty years since its founding with the advent of satnav and digital devices. It is expected that the regional @TRAF twitter feeds and websites will continue – see our France at a Glance page for more – but there is some doubt about the handy annual jam calenders which alert drivers to the busiest days, particularly the infamous Black Saturdays.

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Senior Porsche engineer takes a swipe at Silicon Valley upstarts, and disses hydrogen fuel cells.

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Porsche Mission E interior. Photo via Porsche Newsroom

Environmental concerns will determine the vehicles of the future, rather than new technology deployed for its own sake says a senior Porsche engineer.

In a wide ranging interview with an internal publication, the Technical Director at Porsche Engineering Dirk Lappe sets out his thinking on autonomous vehicles, and electric drive versus hydrogen fuel cells.

Lappe diverges from the received wisdom in some interesting ways, notably on autonomous cars.

‘Autonomous driving is, to my mind, more of a concept in smart mobility that contributes to CO2 reduction, not an end in itself,’ he says.

By this he means connected cars directed by ‘intelligent traffic control systems’ to make transport much more efficient, principally in cities.

But there will still be a place for a human driver. ‘Ferry Porsche once said that the last car ever built will be a sports car. What that means to me is that even in future vehicles, driving pleasure and the appreciation of having one’s own, personal mobility will continue to be the focus.’

Enthusiasts will welcome that but may be disappointed to hear just how keen Lappe is on electric cars.

He describes them as ‘highly emotional products’ with an ‘outstanding driving experience’ thanks to their instant acceleration, and new style interiors due to more compact power units.

At this point it’s relevant to point out that the Porsche Engineering consultancy is distinct from the car manufacturer (though it did develop the original Boxster Spyder, and owns the famous Nardo test track in southern Italy).

However, the all-electric Mission E sports saloon, recently confirmed for production in 2020, shows the whole group is thinking along the same lines – though there is an apparent conflict with stablemate brand Audi.

Th interview first appeared in the February 2015 edition of Porsche Engineering magazine – read it in its entirety here – but was republished last week by Porsche Newsroom, shortly after Audi debuted a hydrogen fuel cell concept at the Detroit auto show.

Lappe says an expected doubling of the all-important driving range available from lithium-ion batteries in the next five years – and the ‘technological leap’ to lithium-sulphur batteries with five times the capacity of current batteries by 2030 – will be enough to keep EVs ahead of hydrogen.

That, plus the sheer cost of the platinum in the fuel cell catalysts and the specialist insulating material needed for the tanks, quite apart from the lack of a refuelling network: ‘A sensible battery or plug-in hybrid concept will continue to be far superior to a fuel cell concept both in terms of application and the cost-benefit ratio for a long time to come, while achieving similar sustainability performance through the use of liquid or gaseous fuels from renewable sources.’

Emissions come not just from the vehicles themselves of course but the whole industrial apparatus needed to produce them.

In this context he dismisses the apparent threat from upstart US firms. ‘The new mobility services being announced in Silicon Valley that will allegedly flow from the advent of autonomous vehicles, or potentially changing business models due to new players emerging as competition to the conventional automotive industry, are, for now, either of secondary importance, or indeed counter-productive, in resolving the CO2 problem,’ he says.

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Stuttgart is the latest city to introduce traffic restrictions to combat pollution – albeit voluntary, for now – despite already being covered by a ‘low emission zone’ .

Also, a snowy sunrise at the Nurburgring. Wrong-way tragedy in Scotland. Shooting drama on the Antwerp ring road.

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Photo: Smart car in central Stuttgart, via Daimler.

After recent similar measures in Paris, Madrid, Milan, Naples and Rome, Stuttgart in southwest Germany is the latest city to try traffic restrictions to reduce air pollution.

Until at least Wednesday, and probably much longer, the city is on alert for particulate matter.

Commuters are advised to leave their cars at home today, and residents are also being asked not to use ‘comfort fires’, i.e. those not essential for home heating.

Mayor Fritz Kuhn said on Saturday, ‘The issue of air pollution affects us all, and everyone, whether Stuttgarter motorists or commuters from the region, can play their part. I therefore appeal to citizen’s sense of responsibility. From Monday, because of the fine dust alarm, look for eco-friendly mobility alternatives to protect the Stuttgarter air, and to protect their own health. “

A statement on the city website says the measures will be made binding for fires from 2017, and for cars from 2018, if the current voluntary regime not successful.

‘Motor city’ Stuttgart – home to Porsche and Mercedes-Benz – is reputedly the dirtiest city in Germany thanks to lying in a geographic ‘bowl’ where pollution collects. The situation has been exacerbated by low winds in recent days.

Like many other places in the country, Stuttgart already has a LEZ Low Emission Zone – known as an Umweltzone or Green Zone – which covers the entire city area, bordered to the south by the A8 autobahn and marked by white circle signs with a red border.

All drivers entering the zone, including those from abroad, need to apply for an Umweltplakette sticker, at a cost of €30, to certify their vehicle emissions.

According to UrbanAccessRegulations.eu, since 1 January 2012 only green sticker vehicles are allowed which means Euro 2 onwards for petrol and Euro 4 onwards for diesel.

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‘A beautiful sunrise above a snow covered Nordschleife, and -10 degrees Celsius,’ photo via @Nuerburgring this morning

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roundup: SCOTLAND. A Danish tourist who seriously injured another driver in a head-on crash after driving on the wrong side of the road has been fined £8000. The 50-year old former Ebay executive has also been banned from driving for four and a half years according to STV and will have to pass an extended test to drive in the UK again. He is the first person to be convicted of the new offence of causing injury through dangerous driving. The injured woman has only just returned to work after the incident in January 2015. BELGIUM. Drama on the Antwerp R1 ring road when police fired at a suspect car on Saturday night. The vehicle was picked up on number plate-recognition cameras but, when challenged, the driver accelerated away forcing police to shoot out the tyres (remember this is you are ever tempted to do a runner). No injuries were reported by FlandersNews.be though ‘equipment which could be used in a burglary’ was found in the boot.

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A look at Bentley’s lavish Alpine road trip – more later- and catching up with construction at Switzerland’s dizzyingly high Taminabrucke.

Quick news: diesel down to €0.864/l Luxembourg + unleaded95 to €1.054. British ex-solider trial starts in France for attempted smuggling child migrant (he got off) + autoroute toll increase limited to 1% from 1 February.

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A look at Bentley’s £15,000 per couple Alpine road trip. More later.

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Switzerland’s dizzingly high Taminabrucke is on schedule to open next year. The new bridge towers more than 650ft above the arm-span-at-its-narrowest Tamina Gorge, hence the name, and is set to become a tourist attraction in its own right when complete. It’s just off the A13 near Chur in east Switzerland. See more, or watch the construction live via webcam at Taminabruecke.ch

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The mayor is keener than she seems but her transport deputy kept a stony silence during the launch of the all-electric Formula E race in Paris. More later. In the meantime, watch the impressive video animation of the circuit around Les Invalides below.

Also, Formula One star Max Verstappen in downhill stunt in Kitzbuhel. And, another roundup of the latest from Calais.

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Toro Rosso Formula 1 star Max Verstappen attempts an ‘extremely ambitious’ downhill stunt on a Kitzbuhel ski slope on Thursday. The 18-year old Dutchman will pilot a specially adapted 2011 championship winning Red Bull RB7 – sporting studded tyres, a raised ride height and interim ‘snow livery’ featuring new sponsors TAG Heuer and Puma – on the Streif ski course in Hahnenkamm, more than 1600m high up in the Austrian Alps. The action kicks off at 11:00CET. See more.

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roundup: CALAIS MIGRANT CRISIS. Truck driver @YouAreParsons reported early yesterday morning there was debris on the sliproad after migrants had apparently tried to block the motorway exit at Eurotunnel. On Monday, a coach party of school children returning from Italy was ‘pelted with rocks’ on the way through Calais according to the Daily Express. A window was smashed and one child suffered an epileptic fit. Last night, La Voix du Nord said Eurotunnel has flooded the land around the terminal to form a natural barrier for migrants attempting to reach the site. Finally, yesterday’s ‘medical emergency’ on board a DFDS ferry returning from Calais was due to the discovery of nine stowaway migrants, including two children says Kent Online. An ambulance attended when the ship docked at Dover but no injuries were reported.

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Blue sky thinking on this year’s trips. And, the first of Estonia’s famous ice roads across the Baltic has opened for the winter.

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TRIP PLANNING 2016

Plugging gaps, from Ireland to across southern Europe.

Our vow not to turn a wheel in Norway until the UK-Scandinavia ferry link is restored looks a little shaky.

After writing about the country’s eighteen Tourist Routes, reading features on Trollstigen, Nordkapp and looking at some very nice hotels – and there being little prospect of a ferry link anytime soon – it’s not clear we can hold off.

Presuming we keep the faith with BritishScandinavian, our first trip this year may be even closer to home.

Our big problem is mileage. The car has nearly 60,000 miles on the clock after less than two years. A new one is on order, due in early June, but in the meantime we can’t afford to notch up any more miles (it’s virtually worthless as it is).

It would have been Scotland’s NorthCoast500 but after all the publicity recently – recommended by the New York Times; star of EVO magazine’s epic Car of the Year film – it might be a little busy up there come spring.

So, we might hire a motorhome and tackle Ireland’s 1500 mile tip-to-toe Wild Atlantic Way (pictured above) which was itself described by Huffington Post last year as ‘The World’s Most Scenic Drive’. The dog might come too.

After that, we have something a little more epic in mind to plug the glaring gaps in our Drive Europe repertoire.

Madrid is the only major capital we haven’t been to so far. Barcelona deserves (yet) another chance. Southern Italy is described as ‘largely vacationer free’, and the roads kept HERO CRA’s racers fully occupied on this year’s Classic Rally.

Meanwhile, we’ve never been to what is reputedly Europe’s best driving country: mountainous Montenegro.

Stringing all that together will be three ferry trips: UK to Spain, Barcelona to Rome (Civitavecchia), and Bari to Bar.

The UK-Spain boat costs about £500 but the other two come in at only £200 apiece according to Direct Ferries – not bad considering they both include overnight accommodation.

Where to on the way back is not decided yet. Having already driven the Adriatic Coast, probably Belgrade-Zagreb, central Slovenia then into west Austria to pick off the mountain roads we haven’t managed yet.

All in all it looks like around 2500 miles which will be a healthy start for the new car’s odometer.

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Estonia’s first ‘ice road’ opened for the winter yesterday reports Estonian Public Broadcasting. It runs 3.9km between Haapsalu and Osterby on the Noarootsi Peninsula in the north of the country. Drivers must not wear seatbelts in case they have to bail out quickly, must not stop, must leave 250 meters to the vehicle in front, and must not drive between 16-25mph which might create a dangerous resonance in the ice layer. Estonia has Europe’s longest ice road, 26.5km between Rohukula and Hiiumaa Island, set to open in the coming weeks. Photo Visit Estonia.

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For the second time in short succession, Germany puts the kibosh on EU plans for a standard road toll system.

Also, rounding up the latest on the Calais migrant crisis. 2015 really was a bumper year for P&O freight. A French politician has a cunning plan to abolish low level speeding fines. Switzerland names the date for referendum on second Gotthard Tunnel.

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GERMANY REJECTS EU-WIDE ROAD TOLL

Impasse over German ‘foreigner toll’ and EU plans for uniform road charging.

Dobrindt, left and Bulc, centre, last year. Photo @Bulc_EU

An invitation to join the up-coming EU road toll system has been rebuffed in short measure by Germany.

In an interview with newspaper Die Welt last week, Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc again floated the idea of a uniform European pay-as-you-go road toll system, and invited Germany to join.

‘We need a European solution for road user charges,’ she said. ‘Many different toll systems are a barrier to mobility in the internal market.’

However, in the same publication on Friday, German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt dismissed the idea due to the ‘additional burden’ it would place on German drivers.

The German government has been long keen not to impose any ‘additional burden’ on its drivers, hence the road toll it does want will only be paid be foreigners.

Meanwhile, the European Commission opened infringement proceedings against the so-called ‘foreigner toll’ (‘Auslander Maut’) last May, alleging discrimination.

According to details in the Die Welt article, the Commission requested further information on the toll in December and expects a reply by February.

@DriveEurope exclusively revealed details on Bulc’s EU toll in November. A final proposal is expected in June, though the system will surely struggle without the Germans.

Ironically, or not, a previous plan for an EU road toll – put forward by Bulc’s predecessor Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas – finally foundered in 2014 because, he said, ‘Time and again… strong Member State and industry interests together adopt a purely national, short-term perspective.’

This was believed to be a reference to Germany which was in the early stages of pursuing the ‘foreigner toll’.

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Police in Calais have taken delivery of three VBRG – Véhicules Blindés à Roues de la Gendarmerie – armoured vehicles to help deal with a repeat of any migrant riots on the Calais port road and A16 autoroute reports Nord Littoral. They do not have any armaments as such but are equipped with tear gas units. In other news, a migrant was been sentenced to six months in jail on Friday for throwing stones at police near The Jungle last week reports La Voix du Nord. Also, a new section of the camp – composed of shipping containers – was shown to journalists today. Set to house 1500 people, down from the current 5000+, it is 100 meters from the sensitive port access road. The remaining migrants will be dispersed around the country, or to a new permanent facility up the road at Grand Synthe near Dunkirk, if it gets planning permission reports the Daily Mail (now granted says MSF). Finally, the British government is under pressure to increase security at Dover-Calais after a man involved in the Paris Attacks crossed between the UK and France last year despite being on a watch list. ‘It would appear extremists perceive the ferry border to be a weak link,’ shadow home secretary Andy Burnham told The Guardian. Any new measures would come on top of already enhanced checks in the wake of the attack, and new Exit Checks from the UK brought in last year.

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roundup: CHANNEL FREIGHT. Despite the migrant crisis and MyFerryLink blockade, as predicted it was indeed a bumper year for P&O freight on the Dover-Calais route. The operator carried 1.34 million units, up 22% on 2014, with record third and fourth quarters (the two most affected by the trouble in Calais). Demand is also expected to increase further said the company in a statement. FRANCE. A Senator wants to abolish speeding fines for offences of less than 10kmh over the limit, but retain the licence point penalty reports France Bleu. Alan Fouche from Vienne in the Rhone Valley (backed by campaign group 40 Million Automobilistes) says it would remove drivers’ suspicion that fines were merely revenue raising by the authorities. SWITZERLAND. Voters have their say on the government’s plan to build a second Gotthard Tunnel tube on 28 February according to Swissinfo.ch. The idea is to build a second tunnel to use only while the original is refurbished in a project which will take until the middle of the next decade to complete (whereupon the second tube will be used as an escape route). However, the opposition is fierce, well organised and won a previous referendum on the issue. It might help that transport minister Doris revealed today (via TCS) that the EU will not require both tunnels to be kept open. One of the main concerns is that more traffic would damage the Alpine environment.

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After a second night of migrant trouble on the port road, a round up of recent events at Calais.

And, a quick look at James Bond author Ian Fleming’s first foreign assignment – driving the 1932 Alpine Trial. City-wide car-free day for Paris this year, and monthly pedestrianisation Champs Elysees.

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MORE MIGRANT TROUBLE ON CALAIS PORT ROAD

Access road closed for second night running.

Twenty more Gendarmes reported for duty in Calais this week according to Mayor Natacha Bouchart, but the ratio of law enforcement to migrants is still 1:18 says the RHA.

A second, consecutive night of migrant trouble on the A216 Calais ‘Rocade’ access road last night.

@TRAFNord reported at 02:54 an ‘obstacle’ had been placed on the inbound lane, the usual method of slowing down trucks to board them as they approach the port. There were no reports of any injuries. Around two hours later the road was reopened.

La Voix du Nord reported a similar incident yesterday though six police were injured and two vehicles damaged.

Migrants last attempted to disrupt traffic on 17 December at Eurotunnel and, before that on the Rocade, for three nights running in late November.

Yesterday, the RHA Road Haulage Association reacted with dismay to recently-unveiled plans to build a new migrant camp at Grande-Synthe near Dunkirk port.

‘Migrants at Calais already outnumber security officials by 18:1. Our greatest concern is that the number of [security] staff will be reduced and redeployed at Dunkirk. The inevitable outcome of this will be that what is already a bad situation will get much, much worse,’ said chief executive Richard Burnett.

Also, Eurotunnel said the decision this week to grant asylum to the migrant who walked through the Channel Tunnel in August will simply inspire copycats according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper also reported at the weekend about a rock band who returned to the UK from The Jungle camp last month only to find a migrant in the car boot. There is no news on any charges – truck drivers who deliberately or unwittingly transport migrants back to the UK face fines of up to £2000 per person.

Meanwhile, P&O saw an 11 percent upswing in freight traffic on its Hull-Rotterdam route last year thanks to the migrant crisis reports the Hull Daily Mail.

Finally, newly re-elected president of the Nord Pas de Calais Picardie region Xavier Bertrand said on Monday he will, ‘fight every day alongside [Calais mayor] Natacha Bouchart to call into question the Le Touquet Agreement.’ This agreement allows border controls between UK and France before passengers board cross-Channel services and is blamed by both Bertrand and Bouchart for the build-up of migrants in Calais.

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After leaving Sandhurst in ‘disgrace’, and failing to get into the Foreign Office, the young Ian Fleming got on rather better with news agency Reuters. His first foreign assignment was to cover the summer 1932 Alpine Trial as navigator for Donald Healey (of Austin-Healey fame). Starting in Munich and finishing in San Remo, the pair drove 1580 miles of mountain roads in six days, set a new record for the ascent of the Stelvio Pass (23m44s) in Healey’s 4.5 litre Invicta (above), and claimed a ‘Coupe des Alpes’ for finishing without any penalty points. The 24-year old Fleming got into trouble with the editor of the Daily Telegraph subsequently for falsely claiming ‘Notable British Successes’ according to Andrew Lycett’s biography, but the event has gone down in history as a landmark for Talbot which took the Team Prize. Photographer unknown.

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roundup: FRANCE. As promised last year by mayor Anne Hidalgo, car-free events will be held monthly in Paris from this spring, likely April. The area under consideration currently is the Champs Elysees, from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde. Meanwhile, the annual ‘car-free day’ – Paris Sans Voiture – held for the first time last September, as part of European Mobility Week, but expected to become a regular fixture, will be expanded this year – possibly city-wide. The city council also recently confirmed plans to pedestrianise a section of the right bank of the Seine – from the Tuileries garden to past the two Seine islands – after the summer.

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