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The United Nations refugee agency today defended its decision to open an office in Calais nearly seven years after the closure of the controversial Sangatte reception centre.
The UNHCR said the office was working with the French authorities and local charities to provide information to around 1,600 "undocumented aliens" in the Calais and northern France region.
Peter Kessler, spokesman for the UNHCR in London, insisted the numbers were "very, very small" compared to an estimated 68,000 who passed through Sangatte in a five-year period.
He said: "What we are encouraging them is that if they have an asylum claim, they should make that in France, if they come to the UK, they are likely, very, very likely, to be returned to France."
He added: "The numbers in France are very manageable, what is terrible is that almost 20% of the people are minors and they need to have access to a humane system where they are not being abused by adults or by people traffickers.
"Some people are going to seek asylum and that is why we are going to make sure that people know about the system."
A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "We have already created one of the toughest border crossings in the world at Calais.
"Last year UK Border Agency staff worked tirelessly at our French and Belgium controls, not only searching more than one million lorries but also stopping 28,000 attempts to cross the Channel illegally.
"If someone is genuinely fleeing persecution they should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. If they are not in need of protection we expect them to return home.
"It is not right that individuals attempt to use the asylum system as a cover for economic migration."
The Sangatte refugee camp, run by the French Red Cross, was closed at the end of 2002.
Its presence, close to the Channel Tunnel, was a source of tension between the French and British Governments amid claims it was acting as a "magnet" for thousands of would-be asylum seekers hoping to reach the UK.
