French Government Begins Dismantling of Calais Refugee Camp

The French government began the deconstruction of Calais, France’s largest immigrant camp, on October 24. Crowded conditions in the Calais camp, nicknamed “The Jungle,” were for many a symbol of Europe’s failure to cope with its largest influx of migrants since the Second World War.

Prior to its dismantling, the Jungle housed 8,143 migrants, the majority of whom had fled war and poverty in Afghanistan, Sudan, and Eritrea. They used this camp as a base to stage escapes to the U.K. by hiding in cargo vehicles entering the Channel Tunnel. However, the French government ultimately moved to dismantle the camp after the population continued to rise and violence increased.

Before deconstruction, the French government evacuated 2,318 migrants, including 1,918 adults and 400 unaccompanied minors, to other parts of France. President François Hollande urged the UK to take in some of these children to relieve the burden on France. Migrants who stay in France are required to register and go to a reception center to apply for asylum.

President Hollande hailed this deconstruction, stating, “We had to rise to the challenge of the refugee issue. We could not tolerate the camp and we will not tolerate any others.” François Fillon, the Prime Minister under former President Sarkozy, shares this sentiment and remarked, “It’s an operation that was necessary; it is good that the government is doing it.”

On the other hand, many local government members and powerful political figures in France have criticized this operation. Boris Ravignon, the mayor of Charleville-Mézières, a small, economically-strained town that was designated by the French government to host a portion of the migrants from Calais, stated, “I don't think this operation will be a success at all.” Presidential candidate and former President Nicolas Sarkozy took the opportunity to compare the current number of immigrants to that under his presidency, saying, “When I left presidency, there were less than 1,000 migrants in Calais.”

A side effect of this dismantlement of the Jungle is that the population of migrants living in Paris in tents has skyrocketed. Because these migrants have been granted asylum, the French police are unable to force them to leave. Many French citizens remain concerned that  the problems that afflicted the Calais camp will now be transported to their towns.