 In September 2009, an area known as "the Jungle" near Calais, where many illegal immigrants had settled in order to cross the British channel to the UK, was cleared.According to Besson, the operation was targeting the "logistical infrastructure and mafia-style networks of people traffickers who sell the trip to England at a very high price".Later in 2009, President Sarkozy initiated a public debate on French national identity.