PARIS — A day after violent clashes in the northern French city of Calais injured at least 18 people and left four migrants in critical condition on Friday, local organizations and officials faced a lingering question: Could tensions among migrants spin further out of control?
“This is a level of violence never seen before,” Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said on Thursday night after arriving in Calais, where three clashes had erupted and migrants were shot. Mr. Collomb called the situation “unbearable” both for local residents and the 800 migrants who live there.
He announced that police reinforcements would be sent to Calais, a port city that serves as a gateway to Britain. The clashes appeared to be the worst violence there since fights in July left 16 migrants wounded. Other clashes, in June 2016, injured at least 40 people.
“Migrants have always owned firearms,” said Claire Millot, the secretary general of the local aid group Salam. “What is new,” she added, “is that four young men are now fighting for their lives because they were shot after getting food.”
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