"Time for the Brits to get nasty." That seems a fair synopsis of the French government's advice to the British Home Secretary, David Blunkett, as he struggles not to appear powerless over the so-called "siege of Calais".
Mr Blunkett seemed to be caught short this week as the asylum issue exploded afresh on the front pages of the British press - fired by televisual imagery of refugees from the Red Cross centre at Sangatte literally picking holes in the security barriers around the entrance to the Channel Tunnel.
The same might be said of Number 10. There the tone was measured and relaxed, the desire for dialogue rather than confrontation with Paris - not least in recognition that, at the end of the day, Sangatte would remain a matter for the Red Cross and the French authorities.
No one was foolish enough to brand this a conventional "silly season" story. We are, after all, discussing here issues of life and death, and genuine tales of human misery and suffering, albeit mixed with others of economic opportunism. That said, it was noted in some government circles that the story was dominating the headlines in the absence of much else happening. Among cynical hacks, it was also noted that the siege coincided with the conclusion of the consultation period over government plans to fine Eurotunnel £2,000 sterling for every "illegal" found on their freight service.
The government's initially laid-back approach was also doubtless informed by the knowledge that the renewed spotlight on Sangatte confirmed that other measures were beginning to bite and, despite that fresh imagery, the country was not being freshly overrun.
The story, however, continued to build. The Freight Transport Association sought urgent talks with Mr Blunkett, declaring hauliers at their wits' end, with "these people swarming all over the transport industry", and insisting that "the government has got to see this is a problem for governments".
Tory leadership contender Kenneth Clarke weighed in, attributing the "collapse" of the administrative system to ministerial incompetence at the Home Office. Ann Widdecombe found new life, reviving her plan to fast-track asylum applications while the applicants awaited their fate in "secure" camps. And, seemingly stung by the revelation that there had been no contact since July, Mr Blunkett suddenly announced plans top meet his opposite number in Paris next Wednesday.
By the time he gets there, the Home Secretary may have decided to abandon calls for the closure of the centre at Sangatte - since to persist seems guarantee only of rebuke. And Mr Blunkett may find some reassurance over plans to disperse other asylum-seekers over a range of smaller centres not quite so immediate to the Channel ports.
As for any development on the so-called Europe-wide front? The French Interior Minister, Daniel Vaillant, has already placed the onus on Mr Blunkett: "I say to my British friends and to the British home secretary . . . that they must also make an effort to harmonise legislation in order to make Britain less attractive."
There lies New Labour's dilemma. Britain is attractive, a "magnet" for an estimated quarter of those seeking asylum in the EU - and not just, as Mr Clarke observes, because they know that if they set foot here they'll probably never be forced to leave. One young man intent on getting here from Calais told the Evening Standard this week: "I don't want to stay in France. I like England. London is good, Manchester is good. The language is easier. The people are not so racist."
Less racism, less regulation too. Many think the absence of identity cards a badge of honour for liberal Britain. Even some conservatives have suggested it time for a more open approach to economic migrants, and Mr Blunkett is considering a more relaxed "green card" work permit system. At the same time he has yet to conclude his review of the hated "voucher" system - promised by Jack Straw to buy off a rebellion at last year's Labour conference.
Moreover, Mr Blunkett appears to accept Mr Clarke's view that Britain cannot accommodate all those wishing to come here. Plans to remove 2,500 of the estimated 5,600 arriving here each month from early next year, and to toughen up Britain's interpretation of the Geneva Convention, are now firmly on the agenda.
Mr Blunkett - who once boasted his intention to make Jack Straw look like a liberal - has apparently warned the Labour Party that it won't be nice.