With Britain set to leave the European Union at 2300 GMT on Friday, the possible impact of Brexit is sinking in for residents of the French port city of Calais.
Calais’s economy is deeply intertwined with Britain’s, with trucks and ferries transporting goods and people within Europe’s single market. It also caters to a steady flow of British tourists.
The maritime route across the 23-mile wide Strait of Dover has been one of Britain’s main arteries for European trade since the Middle Ages. Calais handles some 2 million trucks per year and a 700 million euro expansion to be completed in January 2021 will double capacity.
