The Calais Jungle
The Calais Jungle – the name given to the informal camps that first emerged in the city in 2006 – has no fixed location. But it is usually associated with a former landfill site not far from the ferry port which in August 2016 was home to an estimated 10,000 asylum seekers, migrants and refugees, including a number of unaccompanied children.
As the main point of departure for sea and rail travel to Britain, there have long been migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Calais hoping to reach the United Kingdom. The city is home to France’s largest passenger port, and the fourth largest cargo port. But the signing of the Le Touquet agreement in 2003 between the French and British governments effectively pushed the British border over to France (and the French border to Dover), making it almost impossible to cross and claim asylum by conventional means.
As the 'refugee crisis' in Europe gathered pace from 2014, thousands of those that had journeyed across the continent started to arrive in Calais. Just twenty-six miles from Dover, this was the final stop in northern France before reaching their hoped-for destination.
But the Jungle was not a recognised, organised refugee camp: living conditions were poor and people lived in tents and makeshift shelters provided by volunteers, packed tightly together and with only basic sanitation. Winter temperatures dropped well below zero, making it impossible to wash and dry clothes. Tear gas was regularly fired into the makeshift camp by French police officers from the nearby motorway. In September 2016, French authorities announced a planned clearance of the Jungle camp.
The camp was demolished in October 2016. People continue to arrive in Calais in the hope of crossing the border to claim asylum in the United Kingdom.