France starts clearing Calais 'Jungle'

Unpublished
PARIS - French demolition teams acting on an eviction order have begun dismantling huts in the Calais migrant camp known as the Jungle. They seem to be leaving inhabited huts intact as they move through the camp's southern sector, with riot police standing by in support. Two bulldozers have appeared on the periphery and a water cannon has been deployed although not yet used. The government plans to relocate migrants to proper reception centres. Those living in the camp, mainly from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa, hope to cross the Channel to reach the UK, often using people traffickers to try to enter illegally. The authorities believe some 1,000 migrants will be affected by the eviction plan while aid agencies say the number of people living there is much higher. Workers in high-visibility jackets could be seen tearing down structures and dumping material in a skip as police stood by. Good Chance, a theatre group which works in the camp, said police were preventing activists from entering the camp. "No volunteers access," it said in a tweet. "People removed from houses. Police blocking entry. This is what they call a 'soft demolition'." French officials say public areas in the camp such as places of worship or schools will not be affected and describe the clearance as a "humanitarian operation". Conditions in the southern sector are squalid and the camp's sprawling presence has become a controversial issue in both France and the UK.(FA)

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