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04-23-2017, 03:38 AM #1
Handing out food to Calais migrants is now a crime
Handing out food to Calais migrants seeking to reach Britain is now a crime in bid to deter refugees from travelling to the town
- Natacha Bouchart, the Calais mayor, said the new rule would be strictly enforced
- Charity groups have tried to set up a new camp after the ‘Jungle’ was destroyed
- It is estimated that there are currently around 400 migrants in the Calais area
By Peter Allen In Paris For The Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 23:58 BST, 2 March 2017 | UPDATED: 07:39 BST, 3 March 2017
Handing out food to British-bound migrants in Calais has been made a criminal offence in a bid to deter refugees from arriving in the town.
Natacha Bouchart, the Calais mayor, said her radical measure was aimed at keeping migrants out of the port.
Miss Bouchart, of the right-wing Republicans party, said the new rules would be enforced rigorously.
It follows attempts by charity groups to set up a new camp following the destruction of the so-called ‘Jungle’ shanty town last October.
Handing out food to British-bound migrants in Calais has been made a criminal offence
It attracted up to 8,000 men women and children at a time from war-torn countries including Afghanistan and Syria and was plagued by people smugglers.
Miss Bouchart’s mayoral decree, issued yesterday (THU), states that the ‘regular, persistent and large presence of individuals distributing meals to migrants’ close to the old Jungle site threatens the peace.
It specifically bans ‘any repeated and prolonged gatherings’ in the area, and makes food distribution an offence.
The Calais town council has already placed metal skips in front of a new centre which aimed to provide hot showers for migrants.
Now charity workers and other volunteers say that they are handing out meals ‘in secret’ to prevent police action.
It is estimated that there are currently around 400 migrants in the Calais area at the moment, all of them trying to get to the south coast of England to claim asylum.
Security around the Channel Tunnel and the ferry point has been stepped up massively, meaning many are left lingering.
A charity group called Utopia56 was until Thursday handing out 250 hot meals a night, but this service is now officially illegal.
Natacha Bouchart, the Calais mayor said the
new rule would be rigorously enforced
France’s Interior Minister, Bruno Le Roux, visited Calais on Wednesday and said the opening of any new migrant reception centre would act as magnet for thousands of new arrivals.
However he said the government would ‘not prevent the distribution of meals’ – a claim the mayor has now ignored.
Mrs Bouchart said the ban was ‘difficult on a human level’, but has insisted that none of the migrants had any reason to be in Calais.
Those expelled in October were moved to welcome centres around France, where they were given advice about claiming asylum in France.
Europe’s refugee crisis is a major issue during the current presidential elections in France, with parties such as the Republicans and the far-right National Front adopting particularly tough measures.
Christian Salome, president of the Migrant Shelter (Auberge des Migrants) charity reacted with outrage to the ban, saying: ‘Some may be able to buy food in shops, but others will go hungry, especially the young ones who have no money at all.’
A spokesman for the Catholic Help (Secours Catholique) group said tear gas and baton charges had already been used to break up groups.
‘There is a zero tolerance approach to those arriving – the situation is very tense indeed. This ban will make it even worse,’ he added.
Handing out food to Calais migrants seeking to reach Britain is now a ...
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