Hundreds evicted from France refugee camp, reigniting fears of spike in Channel crossings

‘Forced evictions don’t affect the underlying issues that cause people to risk their lives crossing the Channel,’ says charity

People and children leave after the eviction, by French gendarmes, of the Grande Synthe refugee camp, Dunkirk, on 17 September, 2019. (Francois Lo Presti/AFP/Getty Images)

Hundreds of people, including several families and pregnant women, have been evicted from a refugee camp in France – reigniting fears it could spark another spike in Channel crossings.

French police surrounded the Espace Jeunes du Moulin in Grande Synthe, Dunkirk, at about 7am on Tuesday and began escorting people on to waiting coaches amid a rise in crossings to England.

About 1,000 people are thought to have been living in the gym and camping in the grounds of the site, including 73 families – many of whom had young children.

The clearance comes after a court order was issued – reportedly in a bid to stop people smugglers coming into the gym and targeting their victims as well as to stem violence in the area.

Single men were taken out first and then families, some of whom were allowed to pack up their belongings before leaving.

Some refugees told aid workers they did not yet know where the coaches were taking them.

It is understood one may be heading to Brest in the west of France.

French police said they carried out the evacuation due to concerns over security and hygiene, according to Associated Press (AP).

Officials told AP the refugees were being taken to temporary shelters and allowed to apply for asylum.

Border Force and immigration officers were seen observing the process.

The Home Office said its staff were invited by the French authorities to attend as part of its work with the UK to tackle the number of attempted boat crossings.

Over the weekend staff were sent to the camp to warn people of the risks of crossing the Channel in small boats, the department added.

Charity workers say the evictions are pointless as many will make their back to Dunkirk or Calais and resume their quest to get to the UK.

Clare Moseley, founder of Care4Calais, said: “Continual forced evictions don’t affect the underlying issues that cause people to risk their lives crossing the Channel; even the total destruction of the Calais Jungle in October 2016 has not stopped this from happening.

“What they do is to further abuse some of the most vulnerable people in society – people who are already severely traumatised and who are desperate to protect their families.

“The men, women and children that we talk to every day do not want to take these risks; all they want is for their asylum claims to be heard.”

A spokeswoman for Refugee Rights Europe added: “Unless legal pathways are opened up for people to access the UK asylum system, they will continue to take life-threatening risks in order to cross the channel, and the presence of a few Home Office representatives in the margins of turbulent evictions trying to convince desperate individuals otherwise, appears completely pointless.”

Last week, families living in the camp told how they fled violence in Iraq and were trying to get to the UK so their children could have a safer life.

Most are staying there while they make the almost daily attempt to travel to the UK by any means available.

The wave of Channel crossings has continued over the last week after warnings refugee camp clearances in France would prompt more attempts.

Press Association contributed to this report.