Calais’ conservative mayor, Natacha Bouchart, told reporters she had received assurances after meeting Cazeneuve that the camp would be dismantled in one go, although he had given no timeframe. Some have suggested the camp could be dismantled by the end of the year.
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The left-wing politician also said the French government would encourage Jungle migrants to leave the Calais camp via the creation of 8,000 additional shelter places: 2,000 places in reception and orientation centres, and 6,000 places in reception centres for asylum seekers.
French authorities have made repeated efforts to shut down the infamous “Jungle” camp, which authorities say is now home to almost 7,000 migrants – a sharp increase in recent months.
Now a record 1,900 police are operating in Calais, and Cazeneuve said another 200 would be added to their ranks “to reinforce the battle” against migrants smuggling themselves onto lorries bound for Britain.
Tensions between migrants have led to clashes, and two died in fights within a month.
Calais residents are due to stage a protest on Monday over the effect the presence of thousands of migrants has had on their livelihoods.
The population of the camp includes large numbers of Afghans, Somalis, Sudanese and Kurds, among other asylum seekers.
RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said the organisation has spoken to a representative of the French road transport union, the FNTR, who said that on Monday at 7.30am (local time) lorries and tractors will be gathering at Dunkirk to the north of Calais and Bolougne to the south.
Aid groups, meanwhile, said they were concerned any quick dismantling of the squalid camp would create a bigger humanitarian crisis than the present one.
The government should also encourage the requisitioning of public buildings to house migrants, he said.
“This must be done in stages, beginning with creating more accommodation in France to “unchoke” Calais”, he added.
Since previous year, Calais has been home to a large migrant camp – the so-called “Jungle” – which is notorious for its squalor.
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy has called for Britain – the country the migrants want to reach – to take responsibility for migrants wanting to cross the Channel.
She said: “We tried that once before, and yet the number of refugees living in the camp has doubled”.
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Home Secretary Amber Rudd described the incident as “extremely concerning”, saying: “It is vital that people feel safe when using the Channel ports”.
