French riot police were called in to end fighting among around 200 migrants in Calais early Saturday that left seven slightly injured.

The clashes took place in the sand dunes near the port where hundreds of migrants hoping to get to Britain wait out their chance in makeshift camps and shelters.

France's interior minister said Thursday he had dispatched 100 extra police to the northern port of Calais where an influx of illegal migrants trying to get to Britain is causing more and more havoc.

The northern city has for months been struggling to cope with a growing tide of migrants fleeing wars or repression, and authorities say up to 2,300 asylum-seekers are now living rough in Calais and surrounding areas -- up from 1,500 at the end of the summer.

Hundreds of people took to the streets of the northern French port of Calais Monday to demand a greater police presence in the face of an influx of migrants seeking to enter Britain.

Organizers said that 500 people took part in the march, which included shopkeepers, police officers and farmers. Local authorities put the turnout at 200.

Police in France's northern port of Calais fired tear gas on Wednesday on migrants trying to force their way onto trucks in a desperate bid to get to Britain after they threw stones at security forces.

The incident is the latest in a series of confrontations between asylum seekers and authorities in the port, which trucks go through to board ferries bound for Britain.

Far-right groups rallied Sunday against migrants in the northern French port of Calais days after refugees tried to storm their way onto a ferry to England.

Some protesters carried placards saying "Kick them out!" and others blamed migrants for the "crime, filth and economic disaster" they claim was affecting the town from which hundreds of refugees hope to make it across the English Channel.