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France - Migration

Hollande urges UK to ‘play its part’ in the ‘Jungle’ crisis

French President Francois Hollande said on a visit to the port of Calais Monday that the sprawling "Jungle" migrant camp there would be "completely dismantled".

A migrant next to his tent, overlooks the so-called "Jungle" migrant camp on August 22, 2016 in Calais.
A migrant next to his tent, overlooks the so-called "Jungle" migrant camp on August 22, 2016 in Calais. PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP
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Hollande, on his first visit to Calais as president, also called on Britain to "play its part" in resolving the migrant crisis.

Most of the migrants in the camp, many of them from Sudan and Afghanistan, want to go to Britain and try to stow away on lorries heading across the Channel.

"I am determined to see British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking here," Hollande said, flanked by security forces.

The president will meet police, port officials and local politicians but is not expected to visit the camp itself.

The "Jungle" holds between 7,000 and 10,000 people, according to various estimates.

Calais authorities are building a wall funded by Britain to prevent migrants from smuggling onto lorries heading to the port.
Migration has been a low-key issue under Hollande's four-year-old presidency.

But he has been forced to take a visible stance on the issue, under pressure from brash right-winger Sarkozy and far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Each are promoting platforms of security, patriotism and national interest in early campaigning for next year's elections.

Under pressure from the right wing, Hollande last Saturday stepped up his own pledge to combat illegal migration, promising to "completely dismantle" the "Jungle" camp.

His government has said this will happen "before winter" and a flurry of preparations underway there suggest the operation may begin shortly.

But plans to relocate the migrants have sparked controversy and protests, with local residents in areas where new shelters could be established vehemently opposed to the move.

The "Jungle" camp has also become a sore point in relations between France and Britain.

 

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