There were no reports of injuries. Officials have blamed activists from the group No Borders for the ongoing unrest.
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Meanwhile, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) in the United Kingdom welcomed the Lille court’s judgement and claims disruptions caused by migrants cost the country’s freight industry previous year an estimated £750,000 everyday.
There was calm overnight on Tuesday, March 1, in the “Jungle” migrant shantytown in the northern French port of Calais after an evening of violence triggered by efforts to dismantle half the camp. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of… But many migrants resist French offers of help, afraid of hurting their chances of reaching Britain.
Two buses carrying 43 migrants left on Friday for Bordeaux and Montpellier, the prefecture said.
Two bulldozers and around 20 workers began destroying makeshift shacks, with 30 police cars and two anti-riot vans stationed nearby.
Camp occupants protest at the demolition.
Regional Prefect Fabienne Buccio had said earlier that the heavy police presence was needed because “extremists” could try to intimidate migrants into turning down housing offers or buses to reception centers. Migrants, she said, “had the time necessary to gather their belongings”.
Some migrants sat on top of their shacks, while covered with blankets, in an attempt to prevent contractors from demolishing their shelters within the camp’s southern area.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to clear the hold-outs..
The clashes followed an earlier standoff with police on Monday when around 200 migrants and activists threw stones and three makeshift shelters were set ablaze.
Authorities had received permission from a court in France to begin bulldozing large parts of the camp last week.
“It’s infinitely sad to see the waste of so much work that we’ve done in the past months”, said Maya Konforti of the Auberge des Migrants (Migrants’ Hostel) charity.
French officials say about 1,000 migrants will be affected by the eviction plan but aid organisations say more than 3,000 people live in the southern zone.
It is also understood that moving from the camp would require residents to give fingerprints and to apply for the asylum system in France. Daily they attempt to sneak aboard trains, lorries and ferries bound for the UK.
“Refugees, under threats and disinformation, were given one hour to 10 minutes to leave their homes”, a statement said. But many have refused, fearing that the fingerprinting process is just a ruse to make it more hard for them to travel to Britain.
The dismantling comes ahead of a meeting on Thursday between President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain.
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Hidden by the cover of darkness, groups of migrants tried to access trucks on the motorway heading towards the port of Calais.
