This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37469013
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
France's Hollande visits Calais amid 'Jungle' migrant row | France's Hollande visits Calais amid 'Jungle' migrant row |
(about 1 hour later) | |
French President Francois Hollande has said the "Jungle" migrant camp will be "completely, definitively dismantled", during a visit to the port of Calais. | |
In a speech, President Hollande also called on the UK to "play its part" in managing the crisis. | |
Mr Hollande is meeting police, port officials, and politicians but is not expected to visit the camp itself. | |
The fate of the camp and up to 10,000 people living there has become central to France's presidential campaign. | |
Mr Hollande said that just because the UK had made a "sovereign decision" - an apparent reference to the UK's vote to leave the European Union - it was not "absolved from its obligations to France". | |
He said he was determined that the UK government would support the humanitarian effort, and said his own government was committed "until the end". | |
Between 7,000 and 10,000 migrants and refugees live in the Jungle amid squalid conditions, many of them hoping to enter the UK illegally by hiding on lorries crossing the English Channel. | |
Mr Hollande paid tribute to the efforts of local security forces, and said he had "a clear message for the traffickers: you won't be trafficking any more". | |
A UK-funded wall 1km (0.6 miles) long is being built along the main road to the port in an attempt to deter would-be stowaways. The UK government has not confirmed the cost, but it is reported to have contributed about £1.9m (€2.2m). | A UK-funded wall 1km (0.6 miles) long is being built along the main road to the port in an attempt to deter would-be stowaways. The UK government has not confirmed the cost, but it is reported to have contributed about £1.9m (€2.2m). |
Work began last week, and is due to be finished by the end of the year. | Work began last week, and is due to be finished by the end of the year. |
Half the Jungle camp was dismantled earlier this year and it has become a major issue ahead of France's presidential elections, which take place next spring. | |
Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is among seven candidates seeking the Republican nomination., visited Calais last week. | |
Speaking on Saturday, Mr Hollande promised to set up "reception and orientation centres" to take in asylum seekers. A dignified welcome would be given to people who filed for the right to asylum but anyone who was unsuccessful would be deported. | |
France's Socialist president has not yet announced whether he will run for the presidency. | |