Calais jungle

A huge fire tore through the Grande-Synthe migrant camp outside the northern French city of Dunkirk late Monday, reducing it to "a heap of ashes", the regional chief said, cited by AFP.

Firefighters said at least ten people had been injured in the blaze at the camp, which was home to some 1,500 people by the end of March, living in closely-packed wooden huts.

Two months after the demolition of the "Jungle" hundreds of refugees have returned and live secretly in shelters around Calais in hope of leaving the country and settling in England, reported The Independent, cited by Darik radio.

According to the edition, at the moment, there are at least 6 unofficial shelters but their number has increased significantly over the last two weeks.

A refugee shelter with beds for 400 single men opened in Paris on Nov. 10, part of an ongoing drive to take asylum-seekers off French streets after the demolition of the Calais "Jungle" camp.

The center in a disused railway yard near Gare du Nord station will take in 50-80 people a day - the estimated number of migrants who arrive in Paris daily, most of whom end up sleeping rough.

French police have started the evacuation of thousands of migrants from an illegal camp in the northeast part of Paris.

The number of migrants increased drastically after the authorities closed down The Jungle near Calais last week, reported Reuters.

France's Interior Ministry has announced that the closure of the camp in Calais and the transfer of migrants will start on Monday.

Illegal migrants have been given 72 hours to leave the camp voluntarily.

Announcements to that effect were posted in 9 languages in the camp, known as the "Jungle".

France opened its first international-standard refugee camp in the teeth of official opposition on March 7, while demolition continued at the nearby Calais "Jungle" camp.

Three families of Iraqi Kurds were the first to arrive at the new camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkirk on the northern French coast, an AFP reporter said.

A group of Iranian migrants sewed their mouths shut in a disturbing protest at the ongoing demolition of the "Jungle" migrant camp in the French port city of Calais on March 4.

AFP journalists said at least nine Iranians had stitched their mouths shut in the southern half of the camp, which is being gradually demolished by French authorities.

France warned Britain on March 3 that it would end border controls and let thousands of migrants move on to Britain if voters backed leaving the European Union. 

It also said it would open its arms to British-based banks wanting to flee an non-EU Britain and stay in the bloc. 

A French court gave the state the green light Feb. 25 to raze makeshift tents and lean-tos used by hundreds of migrants at a sprawling slum in Calais, where many dream of slipping into Britain.

Tamping down fears of a violent confrontation, France's interior minister promised to treat the migrants humanely and not send in bulldozers to evict them.

British celebrities including Jude Law and playwright Tom Stoppard were due to appear at the "Jungle" migrant camp in northern France on Feb. 21 to draw attention to the plight of refugees facing imminent eviction.