Fantastic...
Police have bulldozed a notorious immigrant squatter camp near Calais - detaining hundreds who hoped to slip across the English Channel into Britain.
France's immigration Minister Eric Besson, who visited the site known as "the Jungle", called it a "base camp for human traffickers".
He said he would return the rule of law to the northern French coast, adding: "The law of the jungle cannot last eternally."
The people who camped here - mainly immigrants from Afghanistan - have strained relations between the UK and France and become a symbol of Europe's struggle with illegal immigration.
A total of 278 people - nearly half of them minors - were detained in the first part of the operation, said Pierre de Bousquet de Florian, a Pas-de-Calais region official.
"This operation is not targeting the migrants themselves, it is targeting the logistics of the human traffickers... who exploit them," he said.
The migrants carried bags and blankets as they were led away by police.
Activists opposing the clearance yelled at officers and some formed a human chain around the migrants. Other protesters briefly scuffled with riot police.
Many detainees sobbed as they were loaded onto buses, saying they wanted to stay in the camp and voicing fears about being returned to Afghanistan.
Mr Besson said there was no violence in the operation and all personal belongings were collected and being sorted in the Calais mosque.
Thirty interpreters and a medical team helped authorities and hundreds of temporary beds were arranged for those in custody.
Bulldozers were later brought in to level the maze of makeshift tents built from sticks and sheets of plastic.
Activist group Refugee Action called the police operation "horrific" and inhumane, but agreed the squalid camp should not have been permitted to sprout up in the first place.
The tent city grew after France closed a large Red Cross centre at nearby Sangatte in 2002 under pressure from the UK, which saw it as a magnet for illegal immigrants.
British Home Secretary Alan Johnson said he was "delighted" that the camp was being closed.
The UK has ruled out taking the migrants in, and Mr Johnson said genuine refugees should apply for asylum in the country where they entered the EU.
Mr Besson said other, smaller camps scattered around the region - sheltering Iraqi Kurds and illegal migrants from other trouble spots - would also be cleared out this week.
The detainees were to be sent back to the countries where they entered the European Union.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wo...ungle_Bulldozed:_French_Police_Dismantle_Camp
Police have bulldozed a notorious immigrant squatter camp near Calais - detaining hundreds who hoped to slip across the English Channel into Britain.
France's immigration Minister Eric Besson, who visited the site known as "the Jungle", called it a "base camp for human traffickers".
He said he would return the rule of law to the northern French coast, adding: "The law of the jungle cannot last eternally."
The people who camped here - mainly immigrants from Afghanistan - have strained relations between the UK and France and become a symbol of Europe's struggle with illegal immigration.
A total of 278 people - nearly half of them minors - were detained in the first part of the operation, said Pierre de Bousquet de Florian, a Pas-de-Calais region official.
"This operation is not targeting the migrants themselves, it is targeting the logistics of the human traffickers... who exploit them," he said.
The migrants carried bags and blankets as they were led away by police.
Activists opposing the clearance yelled at officers and some formed a human chain around the migrants. Other protesters briefly scuffled with riot police.
Many detainees sobbed as they were loaded onto buses, saying they wanted to stay in the camp and voicing fears about being returned to Afghanistan.
Mr Besson said there was no violence in the operation and all personal belongings were collected and being sorted in the Calais mosque.
Thirty interpreters and a medical team helped authorities and hundreds of temporary beds were arranged for those in custody.
Bulldozers were later brought in to level the maze of makeshift tents built from sticks and sheets of plastic.
Activist group Refugee Action called the police operation "horrific" and inhumane, but agreed the squalid camp should not have been permitted to sprout up in the first place.
The tent city grew after France closed a large Red Cross centre at nearby Sangatte in 2002 under pressure from the UK, which saw it as a magnet for illegal immigrants.
British Home Secretary Alan Johnson said he was "delighted" that the camp was being closed.
The UK has ruled out taking the migrants in, and Mr Johnson said genuine refugees should apply for asylum in the country where they entered the EU.
Mr Besson said other, smaller camps scattered around the region - sheltering Iraqi Kurds and illegal migrants from other trouble spots - would also be cleared out this week.
The detainees were to be sent back to the countries where they entered the European Union.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wo...ungle_Bulldozed:_French_Police_Dismantle_Camp
