Hundreds of migrants living in a camp in Calais known as the Jungle have been ordered to leave as French authorities prepare to raze it to the ground.
They have been told to remove their homes and possessions by 8pm on Tuesday so the area can be cleared.
Anyone who defies the eviction order will be forcibly removed, authorities warned.
It is estimated between 800 and 1,000 migrants live in the Jungle, which has makeshift shops, cafes, mosques and churches.
But humanitarian groups on the ground said many more than a thousand migrants lived at the camp.
Pascal Froehly, who volunteers for the relief organisation Caritas, said: "I find it extremely annoying and unfair to move these people away from what they have created, including churches, shops and restaurants."
But Mayor of Calais Natacha Bouchart said dismantling of the camp would keep migrants and refugees away from activists looking to cause disruption.
The migrants are made up of mainly Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans or Africans, trying to escape conflict or fleeing countries with poor human rights records.
