Migrant centre at Calais set to reopen

Just three months after the high profile closure of the Calais ‘Jungle’ migrant camp French officials have decided to reopen the UK-bound migrant reception centre.

In an effort to discourage the thousand of hopeful immigrants who were gathering the French government destroyed the makeshift camp in September amid growing hostility from local residents and UK authorities who feared their communities being overrun by illegal immigrants.

Despite the best intentions, the closure has failed to stop large numbers gathering, leading to the sanction of a new shelter – although French officials have made it clear that this will only be a ‘day centre’ rather than a formal illegal immigrant reception centre.

Damian Green, the Shadow Immigration minister, has said that the move would just encourage Calais to be treated as a gateway for illegal immigrants who intend to find a way into Britain. Green repeated government calls for French officials to deal with asylum seekers themselves which he claimed would be a more appropriate and humane decision.

French authorities have defended the move, saying that it was a humanitarian response to the situation, given that over one hundred migrants are still camped around the area with winter setting in. The day-care facilities would be offered to those who are wishing to travel to the UK via ferry and train.

In January, the French minister for immigration Eric Besson said that his government would not reopen any shelters around Calais. The number of would-be arrivals surged from early 2009 after a period of decline following the closure of the Sangatte Red Cross centre in 2002.