Intercommunality Calaisis Area 14.28 km² | Population (2012) 4,719 Local time Tuesday 3:54 PM | |
 | ||
Weather 10°C, Wind SW at 31 km/h, 59% Humidity | ||
De sangatte calais l impossible contr le des flux migratoires
Sangatte is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel.
Contents
- De sangatte calais l impossible contr le des flux migratoires
- Map of 62231 Sangatte France
- Engineering
- Pioneering Cross Channel flight
- Refugee camp
- Twin towns
- In popular culture
- References
Map of 62231 Sangatte, France
Like many place names in French Flanders, the name is of Flemish (Dutch) origin (Zandgat) and means "gap in the sand".
Engineering
Sangatte became internationally famous because of the works for the Channel Tunnel and is the location for the tunnel's French cooling station, its British counterpart being at Samphire Hoe. In addition, it is the French end-point for the HVDC Cross-Channel, the connection between the UK and French electricity grids.
Pioneering Cross-Channel flight
'Blériot-Plage' is named to commemorate Louis Blériot who, on the July 25, 1909, was the first person to fly across the English Channel. He flew from the beach at Sangatte to the White Cliffs of Dover, to claim the prize offered by the Daily Mail. The crossing took 37 minutes in his aeroplane, Blériot XI, built in collaboration with Raymond Saulnier. It was powered by a 3-cylinder 25 horsepower (19 kW) engine.
At the western end of the beach, a statue of the French aviator Hubert Latham overlooks the sea (50.93044°N 1.7211°E / 50.93044; 1.7211). Latham was another pioneering cross-channel pilot whose earlier attempt on July 19 had failed.
Refugee camp
Sangatte also achieved notoriety as the location of a controversial refugee camp, colloquially dubbed Sans-gate (Lit. 'without gate') (see Channel Tunnel article for details). Nicolas Sarkozy, then Minister of the Interior, ordered its closure. There were riots in 2001 and 2002, the year the camp closed.
Twin towns
In popular culture
In the BBC Two show Top Gear, the three presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May crossed the Channel in an amphibious Nissan Navara and instead of finishing at Calais after leaving Dover, they ended up 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) along the coast in Sangatte.