Macron warns migrant police against violence

PARIS — The Latest on the French president's visit to Calais (all times local):

3 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron has addressed alleged police brutality against migrants in the northern port city of Calais, saying sanctions will be applied in cases of police abuse.

In a speech to security forces in Calais, Macron urged French police forces to be "exemplary" when dealing with the hundreds of migrants staying in and around the city.

He said: "I cannot let the idea spread that some police forces use physical violence, confiscate personal belongings, wake up people in the middle of the night and use tear gas on water points when meals are distributed." If true, such behavior will be sanctioned, he said.

He added that any false allegations against police will be investigated.

Some local associations helping migrants have accused police of sometimes being violent with migrants.

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2 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants to negotiate with Britain a better police cooperation to handle the migrants in the French port of Calais and more money from the U.K. to help develop the city.

Macron is visiting Calais, where hundreds of migrants are hiding out while trying to sneak across Britain.

In a speech to security forces in Calais yesterday, Macron also said he wants Britain to take in more unaccompanied minors.

Macron is to meet British Prime Minister Theresa May in Sandhurst, west of London, on Thursday.

He insisted France is doing "everything" to prevent migrants from illegally entering in Britain. "Calais is not a back door to England," he said.

The northern city is the closest point between France and Britain, with two cross-Channel transport systems, the Eurotunnel and ferries.

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10:50 a.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting a migrant center in northern France as he prepares to press Britain to do more to help deal with migrants who converge on the Calais region in hopes of crossing the Channel.

Macron talked briefly yesterday with Sudanese migrants at the center in Croisilles, home to 63 people. He questioned officials about measures to speed up processing for migrants who agree to apply for asylum in France.

He also asked about migrants who abandon such centers to try to sneak across the Channel instead. The head of the association managing three centers in the Pas-de-Calais region, Guillaume Alexandre, said nearly 70 percent of migrants there leave before filing any paperwork in France.

Macron goes later yesterday to Calais, and meets Thursday with British Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss accords that effectively put the British border in Calais.

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9:20 a.m.

President Emmanuel Macron is visiting the port city of Calais, where hundreds of migrants hide out while trying to make an end run to Britain.

The northern city, laced with high fences and a wall, is the closest point between France and Britain, with two cross-Channel transport systems, the Eurotunnel and ferries that are a magnet for migrants.

Macron is visiting a migrant center before meeting security forces in Calais on yesterday.

Macron wants changes to the 2003 Touquet Accords that effectively moved the British border to Calais and have left France with the problem of dealing with migrants refused entry into Britain. He is meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in London on Thursday.