Shootings have been taking place in recent weeks in Loon-Plage in northern France, a gathering point for migrants hoping to cross the Channel to the UK. InfoMigrants witnessed the latest one on July 9. Aid groups point to poor living conditions as a source of tension, while authorities attribute the violence to smuggling networks operating in the area.
By Louis Chahuneau, special correspondent in Calais
Several gunshots ring out, and then a stampede. Violence has hit the French municipality of Loon-Plage once again. The sound of gunfire reverberated around noon on July 9 around a food distribution point organized in the municipality located in northern France. Several hundred migrants gather at the site once a day, where migrant aid associations like Roots, Care 4 Calais and Médecins du Monde hand them warm meals.
Journalists from InfoMigrants were present at the time and witnessed the scene. A man who was wounded by a bullet that touched his knee received rapid attention from the English association Roots. They applied a tourniquet while waiting for the emergency services to arrive. A throng of observers quickly surrounded the injured man while he was being treated.
The day before, another man was injured in the leg during a shooting in the same spot. "This is our daily life," said an elected representative from the neighboring community of Gravelines. The public prosecutor’s department of Dunkirk confirmed to InfoMigrants that two investigations into the incidents of armed violence have been opened and entrusted to the Dunkirk judicial police.
“Our teams were able to provide the initial treatment, but sometimes they don’t have enough time to save someone," said Sarah Berry, the manager of the British charity Roots. Two Iranians who were shot in mid-June died from their injuries, while two Sudanese – including a baby – were injured.
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Violence has become normal
In Loon-Plage, the Sudanese, Afghan, and Kurdish migrants who come to the area every day to stock up on food and water, as well as charge their phones, are no longer shocked by these scenes. "Yesterday [July 8, editor’s note], a masked man came and fired several shots. I just heard the shots," said Zakaria, a 20-year-old Afghan who has already failed to cross the Channel twice. "Mom told me to stay away from guns," added Myriam*, a Somali girl.
For Maya*, her mother, the mere mention of smugglers is enough to cut the conversation short: "I have a baby with me. Of course, I don't like the fact that there are guns here,” she said. "But I don't want to talk about them [editor's note: the smugglers]. I don't want them to see me with you."
Violence between smuggling networks is nothing new. Fights between migrants regularly broke out in the 2000s, particularly in Sangatte, over control of territory. Since 2020 and the start of the "small boat" phenomenon, these battles have resumed with renewed vigor.
This time, traffickers are fighting over some 200 km of beaches from Belgium to the Bay of Somme. "There were already clashes when I arrived in Calais in 2016," said Berry. "What has changed is that there are now fewer places for smugglers to hide while they conduct business for crossings to Great Britain."
Territorial wars between smugglers
The poor living conditions at the Franco-British border are also increasing tensions among the migrants, say non-governmental organizations and migrant aid associations. "We're operating in an environment where people have very little, where they're fighting to survive. That doesn't excuse anything, but it partially explains the violence, especially when you have many different ethnic groups [in the same place, editor's note] and many desperate people," said Berry.
One business owner in Loon-Plage witnessed smugglers outside his office. "Their cars were in my parking lot, we could hear them shooting automatic weapons. The Loon-Plage town hall never took any action," said the entrepreneur, who sent multiple registered letters to the city hall and Lille prefecture. The migrants ended up shifting their operations a few hundred meters away without any intervention from the local authorities.
The nature of the smuggling is always changing, and the authorities are struggling to find a solution. "The smugglers' business is like drug trafficking; more shootings are likely to occur because it's so lucrative," said Marc Musiol, a representative of the Border Police (PAF) in the Pas-de-Calais region.
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Judicial investigations met with silence
Investigators now face several obstacles, such as "the layout of the zone, which does not allow for video surveillance and the difficulty of collecting accounts or interviewing victims, when most of them do not speak French and are not always inclined to provide information," said Charlotte Huet, public prosecutor of Dunkirk.
The justice system is relying on its investigators to try to stem the cycle of violence. "As soon as there is a real connection with smuggling networks, we relinquish the case to the Lille Interregional Specialized Jurisdiction," which has more investigative resources, said the prosecutor. This was the case for the shooting that left one dead and five injured in mid-June in Loon-Plage. An Afghan and an Iraqi have already been charged.
*First names have been changed