CALAIS: France and Britain are to sign a deal on Thursday aimed at alleviating the migrant crisis in Calais, where thousands of people desperate to cross the Channel have gathered in slum-like conditions.
The northern French port has hit headlines as migrants make attempt after attempt to enter the Channel Tunnel to reach Britain, some paying for it with their lives.
Some 3,000 people from Africa, the Middle East and Asia are camped in Calais attempting to get to Britain, where many already have family and work is perceived as easier to find, by any means necessary.
At least 10 people have been killed since June trying to make the crossing.
While France and Britain have tried to present a united front in tackling the crisis, the issue has strained ties between the two.
Politicians in Britain have accused France of security failings, while London has been slammed by Paris for making it too easy for migrants to work illegally, thus luring them to its shores.
The accord, which will be signed in Calais by France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and his British counterpart Theresa May, will focus on securing the area.
As part of the deal, the Home Office said Thursday that British police officers will be deployed to Calais to combat gangs smuggling the migrants across the Channel.
Led by one British and one French senior commander, they will work alongside their French counterparts in a "Command and Control Centre", the ministry said ahead of May's visit to the ferry port.
The deal includes extra French policing units, additional freight searches, and making the railhead in Calais more secure through fencing, security cameras, flood lighting and infrared detection technology.
It will also provide a boost to humanitarian assistance for the migrants in a bid to ease the desperate conditions in Calais.
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