French security forces tracked down and detained about 130 refugees who stormed past guards at the Channel tunnel entrance late on Christmas Day in a desperate effort to sneak across to Britain.
French police, domestic security officers and the French military scrambled for roughly eight hours last night to round up the asylum seekers in the tunnel and repulse with teargas a separate group of 400 approaching the entrance, police sources said.
British police, who joined the hunt with sniffer dogs, said the French had rounded up all the refugees, who overwhelmed outnumbered security guards in their surprise push.
"None of them got into Britain," said a police spokesman.
No one was injured in the incident, the latest in a long series of refugees' attempts to reach Britain, where they hope to win permanent residency and a better life.
Britain has been pressing France to do more to stop refugees getting through the tunnel. French officials have said the blame lies with Britain's relatively liberal asylum laws, saying they create the picture of an El Dorado for impoverished migrants.
The incident disrupted passenger and freight traffic for more than 10 hours, with services returning to normal by 6.45 a.m., according to tunnel operator Eurotunnel.
"All services are back to normal now," its spokeswoman said. "Some passengers had to be lodged in hotels overnight, but as it was Christmas the traffic levels were very low. Overnight freight traffic was redirected to cargo ships, cutting down on potential bottlenecks."