A team of British border police have ruled out a group entry for some 60 Syrian asylum seekers blocking a gangway at a ferry terminal in the French port of Calais.
The three-member team of the Border Force held talks with the refugees, who are desperately trying to get to Britain.
But the British officials said they could only examine on a case-by-case basis the requests of those who already had family in Britain, according to Denis Robin, the top government official for France's northern Pas-de-Calais region.
The negotiations included two representatives for the refugees, 60 of whom have blockaded the terminal since Wednesday.
Robin said the British officials indicated that the entry of the entire group "without any checks or examinations of the different cases" was out of the question.
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"However, the representatives of the Border Force said that they are open to examining on a case-by-case basis if there are Syrian nationals with family on British territory."
His statements sent a wave of gloom among the refugees.
Two men joined two others already perched on a port building and threatened to jump but all four later came down.
The mayor of Calais, a Channel port from where many ships and ferries leave for Britain, said the protest highlighted the need for a concerted European strategy.
"It's unacceptable that it is in France and at Calais that one has to control immigration."
