MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The evacuation of the camp, housing hundreds of people in the 19th arrondissement of the capital, started early on Tuesday, L’Independent newspaper reported. The first bus with refugees reportedly left the site at 9.30 a. m. (07:30 GMT) under the supervision of the riot control forces.
France will tear down the Calais 'Jungle' refugee camp that houses 7,000 https://t.co/bTEgTq3sSe pic.twitter.com/mHaQ3Gx3QA
— VICE News (@vicenews) 6 сентября 2016 г.
The evacuation comes as Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo earlier in the day reiterated her pledge to open the first legal refugee camp in the city “soon.”
Since the start of 2015, French authorities carried out over 20 evacuations of makeshift migrant camps in Paris. At the same time, the associations involved in the reception of migrants have repeatedly called not to dismantle existing camps while no official accommodation is established to house the evicted refugees.
Earlier in the day, fire broke out at a refugee center in the Essonne department in France after protests against governmental plans to accommodate 90 migrants there.