ADVERTISEMENT

France urges Britain to take in 1,500 'Jungle' minors

French President Francois Hollande on Saturday urged Britain to take in 1,500 unaccompanied minors from the "Jungle" as officials stepped up efforts to finish demolishing the almost-deserted Calais migrant camp.

Migrants looks at the smoke rising from fires in the Jungle migrant camp in Calais on October 26, 2016

Hailing the evacuation of the sprawling encampment, Hollande vowed that France would not accept the emergence of any more makeshift camps, which have become a glaring symbol of Europe's worst migration crisis since World War II.

He pledged youngsters left at a container camp near the site would be dispersed around the country with the hope that they would eventually be taken in by Britain.

"We had to rise to the challenge of the refugee issue. We could not tolerate the camp and we will not tolerate any others," he said while visiting a reception centre in Doue-la-Fontaine in western France.

"There are 1,500 unaccompanied minors left in Calais and they will be very quickly dispatched to other (reception) centres," he added.

ADVERTISEMENT

Hollande said he had spoken to British Prime Minister Theresa May to ensure that British officials would "accompany these minors to these centres and would play their part in subsequently welcoming them to the United Kingdom".

Meanwhile on the ground, three huge diggers moved in to clear the debris of makeshift dwellings in the northern section of the camp which until Tuesday had been home to between 6,000 and 8,000 migrants.

Many tents and shacks had been ravaged as huge fires ripped through the camp on Wednesday. Around a dozen riot police trucks were posted at the camp's entrance, where skips were in place to take away piles of debris.

Officials hope to complete the clearance by Monday night and on Saturday morning there was little sign of life save for workmen and police.

Unaccompanied minors

ADVERTISEMENT

In Paris, more than 100 leftwing lawmakers sent a letter to British Home Secretary Amber Rudd, calling on her government to "immediately" take in unaccompanied minors from the Jungle who want to rejoin relatives in the UK.

The letter, a copy of which was sent to AFP by the deputy president of the National Assembly, Sandrine Mazetier, said 1,500 unaccompanied minors had been placed in safety in the provisional reception centre -- a container camp -- in Calais.

"(They) are not seeking any favours: they have the right, in line with current international regulations and British law, to go to Britain.

"Their transfer to Britain is urgent. We ask you to take your responsibilities and assume your moral duty by immediately organising their arrival."

Britain's Help Refugees charity estimated that as of late Friday there remained over 1,000 unaccompanied children living in the container camp.

ADVERTISEMENT

Since mid-October, Britain has taken in 274 children from the Jungle, mostly youngsters with relatives already living in the country.

Children who had been told they were headed for Britain to join family there were getting ready on Saturday, hoping to be on their way later in the day.

New migration wave

Migrants, mainly from Afghanistan, Sudan and Eritrea had flocked to the camp near the northern port of Calais in the hope of making it across the Channel to Britain.

Clare Moseley, founder of British charity Care4Calais, expressed concern for those who had been evacuated.

ADVERTISEMENT

"We are worried about what happens next -- there will be a multitude of small camps where conditions are even worse than in the Jungle," she said.

Many Calais locals also fear the Jungle will simply spring back up once the current clearance operation is over.

In an illustration of the ongoing nature of the problem, more than 2,000 newly-arrived migrants have set up camp in northeastern Paris where hundreds of igloo tents have popped up along a 700-metre (yard) stretch of Avenue de Flandres, a tree-lined boulevard leading towards the city centre.

But Hollande said they too would be evacuated.

"Those who have gone to Paris are not people who have come from Calais. There are perhaps a few," he said, describing them as part of "a new migration wave of people coming from Libya in recent weeks and months".

ADVERTISEMENT

"We are going to do the same as we did in Calais," the French leader said, meaning makeshift camps in Paris would also be cleared.

"I have been perfectly clear: those who have a right to claim asylum will go to welcome and orientation centres, and those who don't will be shown the door," he said, referring to their imminent deportation.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve had on Friday said he believed that "85 percent of those who had been living in (the camp in) Calais were eligible to win refugee status in France".

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

Lagos VIS seizes 50 unroadworthy vehicles in enforcement operation

Lagos VIS seizes 50 unroadworthy vehicles in enforcement operation

Aiyedatiwa sends 12 commissioner nominees to Ondo Assembly for confirmation

Aiyedatiwa sends 12 commissioner nominees to Ondo Assembly for confirmation

Woman saves animal from the streets — then she finds out it is something else

Woman saves animal from the streets — then she finds out it is something else

Alake calls on Badaru to fish out illegal miners, violators of mining laws

Alake calls on Badaru to fish out illegal miners, violators of mining laws

Divers find bodies of 2 people who drowned after Baltimore bridge collapsed

Divers find bodies of 2 people who drowned after Baltimore bridge collapsed

INEC rejects LP's National convention in Anambra, questions venue change

INEC rejects LP's National convention in Anambra, questions venue change

8 people including professor declared wanted over killing of 17 soldiers

8 people including professor declared wanted over killing of 17 soldiers

INEC to publish credentials of 17 Edo governorship candidates on Saturday

INEC to publish credentials of 17 Edo governorship candidates on Saturday

Hardship: Abiodun to begin sale of rice to Ogun residents at 50% discount

Hardship: Abiodun to begin sale of rice to Ogun residents at 50% discount

Pulse Sports

Nigeria vs Mali: Has Finidi George done enough to land Super Eagles job permanently?

Nigeria vs Mali: Has Finidi George done enough to land Super Eagles job permanently?

I want to emulate Keshi and win the AFCON - Finidi George shares ambitious Super Eagles dream

I want to emulate Keshi and win the AFCON - Finidi George shares ambitious Super Eagles dream

Michelle Alozie: I had to do it because of African referees

Michelle Alozie: I had to do it because of African referees

AC Milan star reveals he was named after Super Eagles legend Tijani Babangida

AC Milan star reveals he was named after Super Eagles legend Tijani Babangida

Give him the job! Super Eagles fans beg NFF to make Finidi George permanent coach after Nigeria's win over Ghana

Give him the job! Super Eagles fans beg NFF to make Finidi George permanent coach after Nigeria's win over Ghana

Super Eagles 2-1 Black Stars: Nigerians praise Iwobi, Lookman, Finidi George after friendly victory against Ghana

Super Eagles 2-1 Black Stars: Nigerians praise Iwobi, Lookman, Finidi George after friendly victory against Ghana

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT