The migrants crashed the car, registered in Germany, into the police barricade, with officers responding with gunfire as the car came hurtling towards them.
Nine people, including suspected people smugglers, were arrested after the crash, which took place near the ring road leading to the port of Calais just after 8pm local time (7pm GMT) on Saturday. Three of the men come from war-torn Afghanistan, while six come from Iraq, local officials said.
A source close to the case said: “One riot police officer suffered a knee injury when the car ploughed into the roadblock.”
The officer’s injuries are not thought to be serious.
The incident came hours after a violent clash between two rival gangs of migrants, unconnected to the crash.
Five Afghan migrants were wounded after shots were fired during the brawl on the outskirts of Calais on Saturday afternoon.
Three migrants were taken to a hospital in Calais with minor injuries, while a fourth, who was more seriously injured, was rushed to a hospital in Lille. A fifth person was treated at the scene.
The fight, which broke out near an emergency reception centre run by the French Christian charity Secours Catholique, was most probably a dispute between migrant smugglers, according to an unnamed police source.
Calais police are still searching for the gunman, local officials said.
Last year, French authorities evacuated 7,000 migrants from the infamous ‘Jungle’ camp in Calais, and sent to reception centres around the country.
But migrants intent on reaching Britain are slowly streaming back into the port town.
Authorities estimate 500 are camping illegally in secret shanty camps, while local charities put the number at 700. They are largely from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Afghanistan.