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Calais ‘Jungle’ Camp Migrants Get Mixed Legal Ruling Some Calais ‘Jungle’ Camp Migrants Get Eviction Reprieve
(35 minutes later)
CALAIS, France — Both sides claimed victory in a standoff over the fate of one Europe’s most emblematic migrant camps after a French judge delivered a mixed ruling Thursday on whether the sprawling, muddy encampment here can continue to exist. CALAIS, France — The sprawling migrant camp east of this port city can stand, for now, a French judge ruled Thursday, but some of the residents of the makeshift village known as the Jungle can be relocated.
The camp east of this port city is home to at least 1,000 migrants and probably many more and the French government wants it leveled. Although the judge gave the government permission to move some residents, the court ordered that the “living spaces” — shops, restaurants, schools, churches and mosques — be preserved, lawyers for the migrants said. The French government had sought to level the camp in Calais, which is home to at least 1,000 migrants and probably many more.
The judge gave the government permission to relocate some of the residents of the camp. But what the migrant associations most feared — that bulldozers would immediately move in and level the camp known as the Jungle — appears to have been staved off. The migrants who live there and their advocates had feared that bulldozers would immediately move in and level the camp. Instead, the judge’s ruling means it will not be dismantled immediately, and the migrants will not be expelled right away, the lawyers said.
The court also ordered that the camp’s “living spaces” — shops, restaurants, schools, churches and mosques — be preserved, lawyers for the migrants said. That means the camp will not be dismantled immediately, and the migrants will not be expelled right away, the lawyers said.
“It creates difficulties for the prefecture to execute it,” said Julie Bonnier, the principal attorney for migrant associations challenging France’s plans. “I’m not unhappy at all because they have protected things that are important to the refugees.”“It creates difficulties for the prefecture to execute it,” said Julie Bonnier, the principal attorney for migrant associations challenging France’s plans. “I’m not unhappy at all because they have protected things that are important to the refugees.”
At the same time the French interior minister, who had sought the camp’s immediate evacuation and destruction, hailed the judge’s decision as “backing the government’s action at Calais” to “shelter the Calais migrants and reclaim the encampment.”At the same time the French interior minister, who had sought the camp’s immediate evacuation and destruction, hailed the judge’s decision as “backing the government’s action at Calais” to “shelter the Calais migrants and reclaim the encampment.”
The Calais camp has come to symbolize much of Europe’s ambiguous response to the refugee crisis.The Calais camp has come to symbolize much of Europe’s ambiguous response to the refugee crisis.
Perched on the edge of the English Channel and full of Afghans, Sudanese, Iraqis and Syrians desperate to reach England — for what they see as its more liberal social benefits and work rules — it has been both tolerated and neglected by the French state.Perched on the edge of the English Channel and full of Afghans, Sudanese, Iraqis and Syrians desperate to reach England — for what they see as its more liberal social benefits and work rules — it has been both tolerated and neglected by the French state.
The result is a mud-filled assemblage of makeshift tarpaulin tents stretching out over dozens of acres where only a handful of volunteer organizations provide the most basic of services.The result is a mud-filled assemblage of makeshift tarpaulin tents stretching out over dozens of acres where only a handful of volunteer organizations provide the most basic of services.
For months the government has said the camp poses an intolerable security challenge for the state, citing clashes between migrants trying to get to England through the Channel Tunnel, on trains and trucks, and the hundreds of police officers who now surround the site.For months the government has said the camp poses an intolerable security challenge for the state, citing clashes between migrants trying to get to England through the Channel Tunnel, on trains and trucks, and the hundreds of police officers who now surround the site.
Thousands of the migrants have been moved out, some to shelters scattered throughout France, and others to an encampment of metal containers adjacent to the muddy tent city. But many have remained inside the Jungle, where an oddball civic life has taken root, helped by a myriad constellation of volunteer organizations. Restaurants, schools, places of worship, clinics and even a theater have been established.Thousands of the migrants have been moved out, some to shelters scattered throughout France, and others to an encampment of metal containers adjacent to the muddy tent city. But many have remained inside the Jungle, where an oddball civic life has taken root, helped by a myriad constellation of volunteer organizations. Restaurants, schools, places of worship, clinics and even a theater have been established.
Advocates for the migrants said that while they do not sanction the Jungle’s continued existence — conditions there are miserable — they mistrust the state’s intentions.Advocates for the migrants said that while they do not sanction the Jungle’s continued existence — conditions there are miserable — they mistrust the state’s intentions.