Paris: The French authorities are gearing up to close the so-called `jungle` camp used by migrants in Calais and amidst pledge to stop them from crossing the Channel to England.
Eric Besson, the immigration minister, said that a "very strong" rise in crime in the northern French port had sparked him to order the closure, and that the "jungle" had become a "no-go zone".
He said message to migrants and people traffickers was: "You can no longer cross to England from Calais."
It was up to the local authorities to set the exact date for clearing the makeshift camps near the port, Mr Besson said, but they would be closed before the end of next week.
Around 1,500 migrants, many of them from south Asia and the Middle East, live in makeshift tents and shelters in Calais and neighbouring areas. Every night dozens attempt to cross into Britain by jumping on trucks queuing for ferries or getting on trains going through the Channel tunnel.
The minister estimated that there were about 700 people there three months ago but that there were about 300 now following the closures of several squats in the area over the past six months.
About 170 people had made requests for asylum in France this year and a further 180 accepted voluntary return to their country of origin, he said.
The jungle has become a focal point for migrants since the 2002 closure of the Sangatte Red Cross camp.
Mr Besson promised the operation would be carried out humanely. An "individual solution" would be found for each person, including a voluntary return to the home country, an asylum request or expulsion.
But he added that "if conditions in Afghanistan do not allow this there will be no forced return" to that particular country.
The fight against underground networks would continue after the closure and other operations would follow, he said.
Aid groups working in the jungle said that the move would not stop the would-be migrants congregating in Calais hoping to get across the Channel.
"This closure will in no way resolve the problem but simply shift it by perhaps a few kilometres," said Vincent Lenoir of the Salaam charity.
"Anyway, the migrants are spread around the whole country wherever there`s a ferry link to England. Migrants already live in deplorable conditions and this will simply make their life a little harder."
Bureau Report
