Lionel Gougelot 11:05 a.m., March 02, 2022

A family of Ukrainian refugees, who had fled Kiev by car, have been stranded since Monday in Calais after being turned back by British forces when they wanted to go to Britain.

On Tuesday, Paris called on London to ease the conditions for granting visas to Ukrainians.

A family of Ukrainian refugees was turned back to Calais on Monday by the British Border Force.

Nine members of the same family from the south of Ukraine hoped indeed to be able to find refuge in Great Britain but found themselves stranded for lack of visas.

The British refuse entry into its territory to these people fleeing the war, and they are therefore waiting in the port of Calais.

Faced with the situation, they were supported by the Calais town hall, which opened emergency accommodation for them.

If the French government asked London on Tuesday to simplify the issuance of visas to Ukrainian refugees, for this family, it is still uncertainty.

Europe 1 met them.

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"A matter of life or death"

This is the second day of waiting at the port of Calais terminal.

Olexander, a Ukrainian residing in London, is still hoping for a British visa for his seven family members: parents, uncles, aunts and cousins.

The young man says that the French authorities alerted Great Britain so that they let this family enter its territory.

Refugees that Olexander and his brother Alim drove to Odessa to save them from this war.

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"Obviously, for them it was a matter of life and death. Life there became too dangerous. A bomb could fall at any moment. They left everything, their house, their belongings and fled. He was impossible for them to stay where they risk death," he said.

The mayor of Calais calls on the British to take their responsibilities

The mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, expects to see other Ukrainian refugees arriving, candidates for passage to Great Britain.

She hopes that London will not leave them in a dead end on the French side.

"We cannot again be faced with the responsibilities that the British do not want to take. So they must assume their discourse and facilitate the passage of these refugees", she calls.

Olexander and his family say they are ready to wait here as long as it takes for a visa.

Going back is simply impossible.