Calais mayor extends food handout ban in fear of THIRD Jungle as migrants start NEW camp
THE Mayor of Calais Natacha Bouchart has extended a ban on handing food to migrants in the town as crowds mass after the Jungle camp demolition.
Calais' mayor Natacha Bouchart has extended a charity food ban to discourage migrants from staying
The exclusion zone came into force after migrants were discovered setting up camp in forests near the former shanty town.
Despite the Jungle being demolished in October and 7,000 migrants moved on to reception centres across France, increasing numbers appear to be returning to the area, with lorry drivers saying they are again being targeted on their journeys to Britain.
In an attempt to stop another Jungle camp emerging, Mrs Bouchart, a hardline right-winger, issued the emergency order on Thursday. It states the “regular, persistent and large presence of individuals distributing meals to migrants” in the area around the former tent camp, the ‘Dune zone’ posed a “threat to the peace and security of the area”.
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The revised ban, Mrs Bouchart said, now includes the Bois Dubrulle, a forest located a stone’s throw from the infamous refugee camp, and the place d’Armes, a public square located in the heart of the northern port town.
Migrants are the state’s responsibility, not mine
She said: “Ever since the decree banning the distribution of food to migrants in the ‘Dune zone’ was imposed, charity officials have been handing out food to migrants camping out in the Bois Dubrulle forest.
“What’s more, on Saturday, pro-migrant militants held a raucous rally at the place d’Armes, threatening public order.”
The intransigent mayor – who has been engaged in a months-long tug-of-war with charities over her treatment of refugees – said the decree had been tweaked to maintain “peace and stability” in Calais.
Mrs Bouchart said the migrants were not the responsibility of Calais, but of central government
She added: “Migrants are the state’s responsibility, not mine.”
Since the Jungle was evacuated, local officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep migrants out of the port town and to stop secret tent camps from sprouting up in Calais.
Weeks before the mayoral decree banning food distribution was enforced, Mrs Bouchart blocked off the entrance to the French Christian charity Secours Catholique with a huge skip to stop migrants from having access to food, shelter and showers, sparking a wave of outrage among human rights groups.
Last Wednesday, however, French interior minister Bruno Le Roux confirmed the government would not be opening a new emergency shelter in Calais because doing so would only “encourage” migrants to return to the city, but said that officials would “not prevent the distribution of meals”.