French police break up migrant camp near Dunkirk

Peter Allen16 November 2021

French riot police have moved in to break up an illegal camp full of migrants trying to get to Britain.

Officers moved in to the encampment near Dunkirk dubbed The New Jungle soon after 7am on Tuesday, tearing down tents after escorting some 1500 men, women and children to waiting coaches.

Referring to the district of the port city, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said: “On my instruction, the police are proceeding with the evacuation of the illegal migrant encampment in Grande-Synthe this morning.

“Thank you to the police and gendarmes who have mobilised, as well as to the agents of the Prefecture who will ensure their shelter.”

Mr Darmanin said all those in the camp would be taken to processing centres around France, and given accommodation in sports halls and other public buildings.

They will also be given the chance to claim asylum in France, so discouraging them from trying to get to the UK.

Eviction Grande-Synthe
A man packs his belongings
AP

The camp was called the ‘New Jungle’ after the infamous Calais shanty town called ‘The Jungle’, which was destroyed by the French authorities in 2016.

Like the one in Dunkirk, it became a magnet for people smugglers offering passages across the English Channel for paying clients.

It came after Mr Darmanin issued a join-statement with Home Secretary Priti Patel vowing to stop “100 per cent” of migrant crossings to the UK.

The pair had been due to meet in Paris on Tuesday, but Ms Patel cancelled the planned trip following a bombing outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Remembrance Sunday.

Eviction Grande-Synthe
AP

Ms Patel and Mr Darmanin said on Monday: “Tonight, the Home Secretary spoke to her French counterpart Gerald Darmanin to discuss the problem of small boats crossing the Channel and the operational response to it.

“Both the Home Secretary and Interior Minister agreed to strengthen operational cooperation further. More must be done to stop the dangerous crossings.

“They agreed to accelerate the delivery of the commitments made in the joint agreement of July 2021 to deliver on their joint determination to prevent 100 per cent of crossings and make this deadly route unviable.”

Preventing the camps in Northern France from reforming is considered a key part of this strategy by Mr Darmanin.

The number of migrants in the Dunkirk camp had tripled in just two months, with many arriving from countries such as Afghanistan and Syria to try and get to Britain on small boats.

Last Friday, 71 migrants were rescued in the sea between Dunkirk and Calais, and the day before three people went missing, presumed drowned, after trying to get to England using kayaks.

Charities monitored the break-up of the Dunkirk camp, with a spokesman for Utopia saying people would be “dispersed without any real care or support.”

The charity also warned that, despite falling temperatures, many migrants would still try to cross the Channel.

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