Brawls Break Out Among Migrants in French City

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/world/europe/france-calais-migrants.html

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PARIS — As many as 200 migrants clashed near the northern French port city of Calais, using sticks and iron bars in five brawls that mainly pitted Afghans against Eritreans, the authorities said Tuesday.

A total of 21 migrants and six police officers were injured, none seriously, during the clashes that broke out between Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said.

As many as 150 migrants were involved in the last fight, which started on a road leading out of the center of Calais and moved to a highway, the prefecture said.

Four other fights began late Monday and continued until dawn as the police dispersed the groups with tear gas.

The police detained seven migrants for questioning and put 20 others in administrative detention, meaning they could be expelled from France, according to the prefecture.

The authorities cleared about 7,000 migrants from a makeshift camp in Calais last fall, but people hoping to enter Britain by crossing the English Channel in trains or ferries are steadily returning. The authorities estimate that about 400 migrants are now in the Calais area, while aid groups put the number at about 600.

Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said three weeks ago that even though there were far fewer migrants in Calais than there were a year ago, 30,000 attempts to sneak into the Eurotunnel complex or onto ferries had been made since the start of 2017.

Mr. Collomb announced in late July that two special centers to shelter migrants in Calais would be opened. The shelters for willing occupants are aimed at speeding up assessments of their situations, including whether they are to be expelled from France.