France moves migrants from camp

headed to a brighter future, despite giving up their dreams of life across the English Channel in Britain.

Closely watched by more than 1,200 police, the first of dozens of buses began transferring them to reception centers around France where they can apply for asylum. More police patrolled inside the camp, among them officers from the London police force.

There were no signs of major clashes with the officers. On Sunday, French media broadcast images of skirmishes between migrants and police as authorities distributed leaflets about the camp’s closure.

Authorities were expected to begin tearing down thousands of muddy tents and fragile shelters today as the migrants vacated them.

Migrants have flocked to the Calais region for nearly two decades, living in mini-jungles. But the sprawling camp in the sand dunes of northern France became emblematic of Europe’s migrant crisis, expanding as migrant numbers grew and quickly evolving into Europe’s largest slum, supported by aid groups, and what was seen as a black eye on France’s image.

“It’s not good, the jungle,” said 31-year-old Mahmoud Abdrahman of Sudan. “Eating not good. Water not good, shelter not good, no good toilets.”

Ultimately, Mr. Abdrahman said, he wanted peace more than anything else.

But for some migrants, the recent attacks in France by Islamic State-affiliated militants suggest that the country is under siege by the same forces that have targeted their homelands.

Home to migrants from Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria and elsewhere, the closing of the camp fell like a stone on many as the reality of the evacuation sunk in and plans had to be made. Uncertainty and a lack of precise information left many fearful.

The camp shutdown left some, like Imran Khan, an Afghan who was fingerprinted in another country before coming to France, with a tough choice — get on a bus and risk expulsion or go on the run as winter approaches.

By nightfall Monday, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 1,918 people had been processed and sent to 80 centers around France. Another 400 unaccompanied minors were being housed in heated shelters at the camp.

Some of the towns and villages hosting these 451 reception centers have been demonstrating against their arrival in recent weeks.