A camp of about a thousand migrants was evacuated Tuesday by the police in the north of France in Grande-Synthe, against a backdrop of tensions between Paris and London around the issue of migration and contestation of the treatment reserved to exiles on the French coast.
The evacuation was completed at the beginning of the afternoon: 663 migrants were “sheltered” and 35 suspected smugglers arrested, according to a press release from the North Prefecture. Others have left, will have their residence rights examined or will receive legal treatment.
The exiles are driven by bus “away from the coast”, in “accommodation centers spread across the North” and “other French regions”.
The prefect, Georges-François Leclerc, had earlier welcomed an evacuation carried out “in peace”. He said the camp, of about a thousand people, housed “mainly Iraqis, Pakistanis and Syrians”.
The French Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, announced on Twitter the launch of the operation on this “illegal camp”, installed on an industrial wasteland.
The operation is being carried out at a time of tension between Paris and London. However, according to the minister’s entourage, it was planned, regardless of the video conference Monday evening between Mr. Darmanin and his counterpart, Priti Patel.
In a joint statement released on Tuesday, the two ministers indicated that they had agreed to “further strengthen operational cooperation” to “put an end to dangerous crossings” of the Channel.
They “discussed a series of additional measures” and pledged “to strengthen intelligence sharing”.
New evacuations soon
“We have to find a solution for these people, especially since we are going to arrive in winter. The state prevents them from taking to sea and staying here: it’s a vicious circle, ”pleaded the office of the socialist mayor of Grande-Synthe, Martial Beyaert.
The prefect of the North has promised new evacuations “in the coming days” in Dunkirk, another city in northern France.
Fifty migrants were also evacuated Tuesday in Marck and “52 people” on “other sites in Calais”, according to the prefecture of Pas-de-Calais.
For years, migrants have flocked to this coast in the hope of reaching the United Kingdom, with a surge since 2020 in crossings aboard small boats.
According to London, 22,000 migrants had thus managed to reach England on Friday since January. The human toll rises to three dead and four missing.
Dozens of rescue operations were also underway Tuesday in the strait, according to the maritime prefecture.
The treatment of migrants crystallizes criticism from humanitarian associations and officials, as well as elected officials.
The “zero point of fixation” policy
According to a group of associations (including Médecins du Monde, the League of Human Rights or the Abbé Pierre Foundation), evictions from camps and informal shelters jumped by 23% in 2021, the majority (77%) concerning towns of Calaisis and Grande-Synthe (Nord).
In a report Tuesday, a parliamentary committee of inquiry into migration called on the state to abandon the policy of “zero point of fixation” on the northern coast, in view of the “massive” consequences on the daily life of migrants.
In Calais, two activists have also been on hunger strike since October 11 to denounce the “inhuman” treatment of migrants and demand a moratorium on dismantling. They announced a press conference on Wednesday. The government had dispatched a mediator on the spot to try to calm the situation.
Tensions between London and Paris were revived on Friday, after a record the day before in the number of irregular crossings, with 1,185 migrants having managed to reach the English coasts.
Before meeting his counterpart, who had qualified this situation as “unacceptable”, Mr. Darmanin retorted Monday that France had “no lessons to receive from the British”.