Migrant camp in Calais to be dismantled: French minister

France's so-called Jungle camp will be gradually dismantled, the country's interior minister said on Thursday. The camp, located in the northern French town of Calais, is home to thousands of migrants hoping to reach Britain.

File photo of the so-called Jungle camp in the northern French town of Calais Reuters/Pascal Rossignol

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told the regional daily paper Nord Littoral that he would press ahead with the closure "with the greatest determination", dismantling the site in stages while creating accommodation for thousands elsewhere in France "to unblock Calais".

French authorities have made repeated efforts to shut down the camp, which authorities say is currently home to nearly 7,000 migrants. The number marks a sharp increase in recent months. Some aid groups have put the figure as high as 10,000.

Since last October, more than 5,000 of the asylum seekers, including Afghans, Somalis, Sudanese and Kurds, have left the northern French town for 161 special centres set up around France. Places for another 8,000 asylum seekers will be created this year and thousands more in 2017, intensifying the efforts to get those in Calais to leave voluntarily, said Cazeneuve.

Currently a record 1,900 police are operating in Calais, and Cazeneuve said another 200 would be added to their ranks "to reinforce the battle" against migrants smuggling themselves onto lorries that cross to Britain either through the Channel Tunnel or on board ferries.

Britain's interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment on the camp's planned closure.

Cazeneuve is due to visit the camp this Friday. The minister said President Francois Hollande would visit Calais in late September.