“Once there were two or three of us living in a single hut but now we have five and more people crammed inside. Many of us have children who are freezing and they simply have nowhere to go,” a migrant from Afghanistan told RIA.
Around 100 makeshift homes were torn down on Tuesday during a court-authorized demolition of the campsite.
As riot police tried to clear the camp called “Jungle,” residents began to burn down some of the remaining buildings.
Some of them started pelting the officers with stones. Police responded with tear gas and batons.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve tried to defend his subordinates during a heated debate in parliament.
“Just as we mobilize social workers, our police officers are being pelted with stones. The moment we send in reinforcements to help them everyone starts crying about police brutality. This holds no water,” the Minister complained.
He said that the demolition of the Jungle camp was being done in the name of “humanitarian ideals.”
“We believe that people who have suffered so much, should be offered decent accommodation, social benefits and a chance to learn French,” Bernard Cazeneuve added.
Many of the migrants in Calais are trying to cross the Channel into neighboring Britain. London, meanwhile, says that a mere handful of migrants will be allowed in.
In January the office of Prime Minister David Cameron said that if all the refugees stranded in Calais were allowed to enter Dover the city would be choked and unable to keep the situation under control.
