Off the wire
• 1st LD: Chinese premier arrives in Cuba for official visit  • Urgent: Chinese premier arrives in Cuba for official visit  • Roundup: EU, not trafficker, should decide who come to Europe: Austrian chancellor  • Egypt's Sisi meets with top officials over migrant boat tragedy  • Scientists identify gene behind "sixth sense" in humans  • Americans' trust in political leaders, public at new lows  • After Clinton's health scare, more Americans say presidents should release medical info  • Malaysia calls for robust global actions against terrorism  • Hollande vows to completely dismantle Calais migrant "jungle" camp  • Vietnam pledges efforts to implement sustainable development  
You are here: 　 Home

Roundup: Hollande vows to completely dismantle Calais migrant "jungle" camp

Xinhua, September 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

French President Francois Hollande on Saturday pledged to completely dismantle the shanty town in northern Calais where thousands of migrants are still camping, vowing to disperse them in centres across the country "over the coming weeks."

"We are in favor of the dismantling of Calais camp for humanitarian and responsibility reasons. There should be no camp in France," Hollande said.

During a visit to migrants reception centre in Tours, southwest Paris, the French president stressed that the government's objective consisted in dismantling completely Calais "jungle", and to disperse migrants who are living in the French port city "with extremely difficult conditions."

Presenting his plan to address the migrant crisis, Hollande pledged 9,000 places will be made available at "reception and orientation centres" for refugees living in the camp over the coming weeks.

They will be dispersed into groups of 40 to 50 people for a limited period between three and four months. The migrants who fit the asylum criteria will stay in France while those who do not will be sent home, according to the French president.

Hollande is scheduled to visit the shanty town on Monday as migration issue resurfaced as main hot topic months ahead next year's presidential election.

A recent Elabe poll for news channel BFMTV said 57 percent of respondents said opposed to take in more refugees while 43 percent were in favor.

The pollster also said eight out of ten respondents backed the government's decision to dismantle refugees camp in the northern city of Calais. However, majority of them said were against dispersing them across the country.

Thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East have fled war and poverty in their native countries recently, leading to an unprecedented migrants crisis in Europe.

Some of the migrants live in Calais where the French end of the Channel Tunnel is located, while they attempt to board lorries and trains heading to Britain to seek a better life.

France promises to receive 30,000 refugees over the next two years. Endit