French government to raze migrant camp in Calais

THE French government will raze makeshift tents and lean-tos used by hundreds of migrants at a sprawling slum in Calais, where many dream of escaping to the UK.

A man uses a mobile phone in the "Jungle" migrants and refugees camp on February 25, 2016 in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the notorious "Jungle" camp in Calais as the mayor said the process would take place over the next three weeks. / AFP / DENIS CHARLET

A FRENCH court gave the state the green light on Thursday to raze makeshift tents and lean-tos used by hundreds of migrants at a sprawling slum in Calais, where many dream of slipping into Britain.

Tamping down fears of a violent confrontation, France’s interior minister promised to treat the migrants humanely and not send in bulldozers to evict them.

The camp in the northern port city — known as “the jungle” — has been an embarrassing chapter in Europe’s migrant crisis, and France announced this month that its densely populated southern half would be razed. The move prompted rights groups and migrant advocates to sue.

A migrant rides his bicycle past riot police in the camp near Calais. Picture: AP Photo/Jerome Delay

The court in Lille ruled that the makeshift shelters used by the migrants can be destroyed — but that common spaces like places of worship, schools and a library must be left standing.

Calais’ prime location — with a major ferry port, Eurotunnel rail system and truck traffic crossing the English Channel — has put it in the crosshairs of the migrant crisis. Weary travellers come driven by a dream that they will find peace and prosperity in English-speaking Britain. Lacking any papers, they have to sneak across the Channel, and at least 20 migrants have died trying since late June.

Afghan children ride their bicycles in ‘The Jungle’. Authorities estimate that there are over 300 minors without families in the camp. Picture: AP Photo/Jerome Delay

Officials say moving migrants out of the Calais slum will be a better solution for all, since many have been languishing in poverty and hopelessness after nearby borders have been sealed by increasing security. Officials estimate the number of migrants who will be affected at 800 to 1000, while humanitarian organisations say over 3000 migrants live there.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve lauded the court’s decision, saying it “fully supported” the government’s strategy for dealing with the camp.

A dismal winter in ‘The Jungle’. Picture: AFP/Denis Charlet

“It has never been our intention to send in bulldozers to destroy the camp,” Cazeneuve added.

Another filthy camp known as a haven for smugglers near Dunkirk, France, is being relocated to a more hygienic site with heated tents under the supervision of the charity group Doctors Without Borders.

Moving the migrants out will be France’s most dramatic step yet to end Calais’ years-long migrant problem, which has transformed the city of nearly 80,000 into a high-security tension point, fuelled far-right sentiment and defied British and French efforts to make the issue go away.

A migrant man stands inside his makeshift shop in ‘The Jungle’. Local authorities say a total of 3700 people are living in the camp. Picture: AFP/Denis Charlet

The same court in Lille ordered the state in November to clean up the camp by adding running water, toilets and garbage bins, count the number of minors without families — now 326 — and help those in distress.

As of late, however, an increasingly vocal backlash against the Calais migrants has been punctuated by militia-style violence. Truckers have grown exasperated or fearful of increasingly bold migrants trying to sneak rides across the English Channel.

Police officers patrol a car on the French-Belgian border in Adinkerke, Belgium. Picture: AP/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

A sense of anxiety mounted in the camp on Thursday ahead of the court ruling. Nearby Belgium, concerned about an influx of Calais evacuees, implemented border checks.

“Obviously, they are scared and concerned about what is going to happen,” said Ed Sexton of Help Refugees, one of numerous British charities working in the slum. “The people have been here months, living in terrible conditions, but they don’t want their shelters destroyed.”

A migrant woman walks along a muddy path in the camp. Between 800 and 1000 will be affected by the impending eviction. Picture: AFP/Denis Charlet

Camp residents were offered the choice of being sent to temporary welcome centres around France, or staying in one of 125 heated containers set up last month behind the camp.

Humanitarian workers predicted those who refuse to leave would simply gather in small groups elsewhere around Calais and the northern French coast.

“You’re basically going to scatter a lot of people,” said Maya Konforti of the group Migrant Shelters.

French Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve says bulldozers will not be sent in to destroy the camp. Picture: AFP/Jean-Francois Monier

An Afghan who identified himself only as Jan said he would look elsewhere if the Calais migrant camp was closed.

“They are the government ... we can’t fight them,” he said.

It’s far from certain, however, that razing the slum will be a turning point for Calais.

A Red Cross-run camp in nearby Sangatte — which was used during its three-year existence by 68,000 refugees — was shut down in 2002. Afterwards, hundreds of migrants simply moved up the coast to set up small camps around Calais.