Pitching their tents in Paris, migrants bound for Britain
SLEEPING rough under a bridge in the heart of Paris, this is the latest wave of migrants on their way to Britain.
Six hundred are crammed into makeshift camps in the French capital, many en route to Calais from where they hope to reach the UK and claim asylum.
The 300 North Africans living in tents under the Charles de Gaulle Bridge are a short walk from Notre Dame cathedral and the Sorbonne area of the city – but their squalid camp is a world away from the glamour of Paris overhead.
A similar settlement is growing around the Gare du Nord Eurostar terminal where trains depart to England.
There are also around 1,000 more migrants in a shanty town near Calais, making daily attempts to sneak across the Channel.
Mail Foreign Service
Despite a high turnover of migrants, agencies say the number is increasing as more and more arrive from North Africa.
Many have reached Paris after perilous journeys on traffickers’ boats from Libya – in which hundreds have drowned in recent weeks. Bruno Morel, head of homeless charity Emmaus, said: ‘These are people who have experienced tragedy and trauma … These camps are expanding, but the conditions are not adequate … we need solutions for lodging. We expect many to move on as they try to reach the UK or other countries, but we also expect them to be replaced by more.’
Those under the Charles De Gaulle Bridge are mostly Eritreans, Sudanese, Afghans and Ethiopians. A 21-year- old Eritrean called Amanuel admitted he hoped to sneak into Britain.
‘I have tried three times to get on a train to Calais, but each time the police caught me and threw me off,’ he told French media. ‘We try to hide in the toilets, but it’s difficult. We’ll try again.’
He said most people like him had paid traffickers more than £1,000 to get to Libya, and another £1,400 for a place on a boat across the Mediterranean.
‘We had friends who died on the boats,’ he added. ‘It’s very dangerous. I spent three days on the boat with around 350 people and you don’t feel safe.’
‘These camps are expanding’