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| French authorities step up moves to dismantle part of Calais 'Jungle' camp | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| French authorities have stepped up their moves to dismantle the southern part of the makeshift “Jungle” camp in Calais. | |
| There was a large police presence outside the camp from early on Monday morning as French officials spoke to residents about the need to move from their makeshift tents and shelters. | |
| Clare Moseley, of British volunteer group Care4Calais, said prefecture officials arrived at the camp at 7am and told people they had one hour to move from their camps and shelters or they could be arrested. She said: “The police presence is massive. They have the whole area cordoned off.” | |
| Volunteers in the jungle said a small number of tents and shelters had begun to be dismantled. Workmen had begun to pull down the makeshift structures by hand. | |
| Some migrant aid groups had feared the local French prefecture could move swiftly after a court on Thursday gave the legal go-ahead for plans to demolish hundreds of tents and wooden shelters. | Some migrant aid groups had feared the local French prefecture could move swiftly after a court on Thursday gave the legal go-ahead for plans to demolish hundreds of tents and wooden shelters. |
| French authorities said earlier this month they intended to bulldoze half of the Jungle camp, warning between 800 and 1,000 migrants and refugees to leave a seven-hectare southern section of the site. | French authorities said earlier this month they intended to bulldoze half of the Jungle camp, warning between 800 and 1,000 migrants and refugees to leave a seven-hectare southern section of the site. |
| The Calais prefect, Fabienne Buccio, told Le Monde she intended to reduce the size of the camp by about half. | The Calais prefect, Fabienne Buccio, told Le Monde she intended to reduce the size of the camp by about half. |
| Care4Calais is among the groups that have been opposing the dismantlement plans in the French courts. A new legal appeal against last Thursday’s ruling had been lodged last week, Moseley said, and was expected to be heard soon. | Care4Calais is among the groups that have been opposing the dismantlement plans in the French courts. A new legal appeal against last Thursday’s ruling had been lodged last week, Moseley said, and was expected to be heard soon. |
| While some residents have moved into the shipping container shelters and a small number have left daily on state-provided coaches to centres elsewhere in France, many more than the official estimate of 800 to 1,000 people remained inside the main camp. A census carried out by two charities recorded 3,455 people living there, with one group telling the Guardian earlier this week that this included 445 children, of whom 305 were unaccompanied. | While some residents have moved into the shipping container shelters and a small number have left daily on state-provided coaches to centres elsewhere in France, many more than the official estimate of 800 to 1,000 people remained inside the main camp. A census carried out by two charities recorded 3,455 people living there, with one group telling the Guardian earlier this week that this included 445 children, of whom 305 were unaccompanied. |
| While the dismantlement process was given the go-ahead last week, the court in Lille ruled that common spaces like places of worship and schools could remain standing. | While the dismantlement process was given the go-ahead last week, the court in Lille ruled that common spaces like places of worship and schools could remain standing. |
| A spokesman for the Calais prefecture denied there was a vast new clearing operation underway in the jungle. He said French officials from asylum agencies and other state agencies continued to go from tent to tent to talk to talk to migrants about their options as they had done last week. | |
| He told the Guardian: “There is a reinforced police presence today to allow those officials to enter and talk to people. But this is a gradual process which will take place over several days and weeks. There will be no bulldozers.” |