unching missiles on the southeast of England. Despite heavy preparations for defence against an amphibious assault, the Allied invasion took place well to the west in Normandy on D-Day. Calais was very heavily bombed and shelled in a successful effort to disrupt German communications and persuade them that the Allies would target the Pas-de-Calais for invasion (rather than Normandy). The town, by then largely in ruins, was liberated by General Daniel Spry's 3rd Canadian Infantry Division between 25 September and 1 October 1944.[40] On February 27, 1945 Calais suffered a last bombing raid– this time by British bombers who mistook the town for Dunkerque, which was at that time still occupied by German forces. After the war there was little rebuilding of the historic city and most buildings were modern ones.
Recent history
Calais is currently home to around 1,000 migrants, mostly looking to enter the UK avoiding the strict immigration controls at the port.[42]Some 700–800 migrants, mostly Afghan, were camped in an area among the dunes near the port, locally called 'The Jungle', but this was destroyed by French authorities in a dawn raid on 22 September 2009.[43] The inhabitants were partly imprisoned at the nearby Centre de Rétention of Coquelles, but many more were taken to detention centres all over France before being released and having to make the long journey back to Calais by foot. After the closing of the camp, the French authorities have threatened to repatriate "sans-papiers"("immigrés en situation irrégulière") to Afghanistan.The climate is temperate oceanic in Calais. Temperature ranges are moderate and the winters are mild with unstable weather. It rains on average about 700 to 800 mm per year
