Clashes as France starts destroying ‘Jungle’ migrant camp

CALAIS, France: Clashes broke out between French riot police and migrants on Monday as authorities began destroying makeshift shelters in the grim shantytown on the edge of Calais known as the ‘Jungle’.

Police lobbed tear gas cannisters at migrants who protested as around 20 workers moved in to start pulling down the shacks by hand, initially under blue skies as an icy wind blew.

As night fell some 150 migrants threw rocks and struck vehicles heading for England on a port road which runs next to the sprawling camp, staying there for an hour or so, some wielding iron bars, an AFP reporter said. Police responded with tear gas.

Several trucks and cars were blocked by migrants on the stretch of road overlooking a piece of ground which had previously been part of the Jungle.

It’s infinitely sad to see the waste of so much work that we’ve done in the past months.

Maya Konforti of the Auberge des Migrants (Migrants’ Hostel) charity

Earlier, migrants and members of the British ‘No Borders’ activist group, who launched projectiles at the police, set fire to about 20 shelters at the camp, as running clashes continued through the afternoon.

By 1845 GMT police had back control of the port road, which remained strewn with debris. Three members of No Borders and one migrant were arrested, according to local government officials.

The demolition of the southern half of the camp began after a court petition by charities to stop it was rejected last week.

“It’s infinitely sad to see the waste of so much work that we’ve done in the past months,” said Maya Konforti of the Auberge des Migrants ( Migrants’ Hostel) charity.

Volunteers and aid workers have spent months trying to improve conditions in the camp, built on a former toxic waste dump on the outskirts of Calais.

Local authorities, who have promised that no one will be evacuated by force, say 3,700 people live in the camp, and that between 800 and 1,000 will be affected by the eviction. But charities say a recent census they conducted counted at least 3,450 people in the southern part alone, including 300 unaccompanied children. — AFP