THE FRENCH government is to shut down a woodland squatter camp in Calais known as “the jungle” where hundreds of migrants live in makeshift shacks, waiting to try to cross the English Channel to Britain.
France is struggling to deal with tent villages that have sprung up on the northern coast since the Sangatte Red Cross shelter was closed in 2002.
Calais has seen an increase in migrants, mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea. Between 500 and 800 are estimated to be camped without proper sanitation on the wooded dunes of “the jungle”, near an industrial zone bordering the port. Many are teenagers. Often they speak English or have relatives in Britain and, rather than claim asylum in France, see more prospects in the UK.
French immigration minister Éric Besson visited Calais yesterday, declaring that “the law of the jungle will reign no longer”.
Three days ago, riot police and gendarmes with bulldozers swooped on several tent groupings, arresting more than 190 migrants, only to release them later. The immigration ministry said the raid was to root out people-traffickers, and similar raids would follow.
Mr Besson said humanitarian measures would be taken to help migrants, but there would be "no new Sangatte", quashing speculation that a new shelter might open in the area. – ( Guardianservice)