'Jungle' migrant camp in France to be cleared Monday

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AFP Calais (France)
Last Updated : Oct 22 2016 | 2:07 AM IST
The "Jungle" migrant camp on France's northern coast will be cleared of its residents on Monday before being demolished, authorities said today.
The local administration "made a legal order Friday that is to take effect on Monday", it said in a statement announcing the long-awaited operation.
Migrants at the camp in the ferry port of Calais will begin boarding 145 buses at 8:00 AM Monday to take them to nearly 300 temporary accommodation centres dotted round France.
The demolition of the sprawling makeshift camp closes a difficult chapter in Europe's migrant crisis.
The camp has strained relations between France and Britain, the country most of its residents are trying to reach.
On Sunday, officials and charity workers will pass through the settlement of shacks and tents to inform residents that they will have to leave.
The order from the local authorities informing residents that the camp is about to close was displayed from today in several languages.
"The aim is to give everyone a roof over their heads and we will do everything we can to make that happen," one official said.
The current Jungle camp dates from April 2015 and housed more than 10,000 migrants at its peak, although that number has dwindled to around 6,400 in its final days.
Migrants were attracted to Calais because it is a key departure point for Britain, where some have family links and many believe they have a better chance of finding work.
Their persistent efforts to climb on to trucks heading across the English Channel aboard ferries or trains have led the authorities to build a wall to keep them off the main road leading to the ferry port.
The Jungle residents are mainly from Afghanistan, Sudan and Eritrea.
For many, the camp embodies the failure of European governments to deal with the influx of migrants.
Calais residents and businesses have called for months for the camp to be razed.
But the fate of around 1,000 unaccompanied minors has delayed the camp's closure.
British authorities are allowing those with family links in Britain to settle in the UK.
By the end of the weekend, the week's total number of children transferred to the UK was expected to have reached 200, according to the France Terre d'Asile charity.
The head of the charity, Pierry Henry, told AFP that 73 minors had travelled to Britain on Friday and more than 100 were due to follow tomorrow.

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First Published: Oct 22 2016 | 2:07 AM IST

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