There is a commonly held view among British people that France over the last 20 years or so has tried to solve its immigration problem by funnelling as many new arrivals as possible towards Calais and the UK.

So let me be clear. This is nonsense. It is just plain wrong. Last year, France issued more than 320,000 residence permits to immigrants – a record number, up 17 per cent on the figure for 2021. And the number of permits issued this year is expected to be significantly higher.