Clashes break out as Calais migrant 'Jungle' dismantling begins

Dozens of migrants and activists faced off with French riot police at the Calais migrant "Jungle" on Monday, as workers began bulldozing the shantytown. Around 4,000 migrants - many of them from Syria and Iraq - have made the camp home and other sites around the town, as they attempt to reach Britain and apply for asylum or live illegally.

At least three makeshift shelters were set ablaze by migrants and activists to disrupt a French government order to pull down around a third of the camp, which sits on the outskirts of the northern French port town of Calais. Rows and rows of tents, caravans and wooden structures stretch for approximately 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles).

Clashes broke out between several migrants and police who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse those blocking their work. Two people were arrested during the scuffles. On Monday, French authorities brought dozens of riot police, after being threatened by activists on Friday when they first tried to partially tear down the site.

Police used water cannon to help disperse dozens of people who refused to leave the camp. French authorities said the migrants were given ample notice to quit and that many of the tents and wooden structures had already been abandoned.

One migrant threatened to slash his wrist as police tried to evict him from the camp, which is bult on the site of a former toxic waste dump on the outskirts of Calais. A whole city has sprung up over the past year, complete with church, mosque, school and medical facilities.

Police and construction workers have been given permission to dismantle the southern end of the migrant camp. Two bulldozers and around two dozen workers moved in on Monday to start pulling down the shacks. But a judge in the French city of Lille insisted that many of the vital community facilities on site remain untouched.

Despite the best efforts of charities and church groups, conditions in the camp have deteriorated over the past few months. French authorities have encouraged migrants to move to better facilities in Calais itself or to apply for asylum in France and move to another city.

A fully-heated accommodation center, made of shipping containers, has been put up close to existing camp to house up to 1,500 migrants. But many people have complained about a lack of communal spaces and that their movement is restricted.

The Calais 'Jungle' has regularly hit the headlines despite playing just a tiny role in the current European migrant crisis. Compare its 4,000 inhabitants to events on the Greek-Macedonian border, where in just a few days, approximately 22,000 refugees have become stuck, due to border entry restrictions.

Most of the migrants have traveled to Calais because they want to reach Britain. Ever day, dozens attempt to climb onto trains or into the back of lorries, travelling through the Eurotunnel or by ferry to Dover, in England. Last summer, hundreds of migrants tried to scale security fences and enter the rail-only tunnel that links the UK and France.