More than 96,000 people, including about 150 public figures, have signed the letter.
Advertisement
A French court has given the go-ahead for the demolition of hundreds of tents and wooden shelters housing migrants and refugees in the shanty town outside Calais known as the Jungle.
France criticised Belgium on Thursday for dispatching police reinforcements to bolster its French frontier, complaining that Paris was not told in advance of what its interior minister called an “odd” decision.
A court in Lille has authorized the French government’s plan to demolish portions of Calais’ infamous refugee camp, the “Jungle”.
The government announced earlier this month that most of the Jungle must be cleared by the end of March.
The court in Lille ruled that the makeshift shelters used by the migrants can be destroyed – but that common spaces like places of worship, schools and a library must stand.
The camp, on the outskirts of the French port, is a temporary home to thousands of migrants and refugees who are desperate to enter Britain.
Facing criticism of the eviction order, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve softened the ultimatum this week, saying the evacuation would be “progressive”. “There was never any question of the French government sending bulldozers on to the site”, he said.
Officials estimate the number of migrants who will be affected at around 800 to 1,000.
Following days of legal wrangling, Judge Valerie Quemener made a decision to ignore protests by humanitarian groups and the migrants themselves. No time limit was set on what is likely to be a weeks-long process.
FTA officials said a solution needed to be found to protect the £89 billion worth of United Kingdom trade which passes through the cross-Channel ports annually.
Neighboring Belgium, concerned about an influx of Calais evacuees, began implementing border checks on Wednesday.
Authorities view the razing of much of the camp as a turning point for Calais, but that’s a far from certain outcome.
Many predicted that bulldozing the camp would not solve the problem and that the safety of unaccompanied children would be in jeopardy. An increasingly bold tactic of migrants trying to sneak into trucks is exasperating drivers. Tired travellers come driven by a dream that they will find peace and prosperity in English-speaking Britain. “It is now extremely risky to cross over to England…”
However, the migrants have warned they will still try to get to London where they are adamant that a better life awaits them.
Advertisement
“We’re relieved by this announcement but we’re vigilant”, she said.
