French authorities on Tuesday, September 30, said they had evacuated a camp in a disused warehouse in Calais where hundreds of migrants had been sheltering.
Nicknamed "Cheers," the site had housed up to 600 people in what the regional prefecture described as "degrading and dangerous conditions."
The operation took place in the morning "calmly and without incident," the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said in a statement. It said the site had become "a hub for smuggling networks exploiting the vulnerability of migrants."
Hundreds of migrants had taken shelter in the warehouse, living in cramped, dark and damp conditions amid piles of waste, AFP observed during a visit in January. Migrants had occupied the camp nearly a year ago.
State agencies conducted visits in September to offer the camp's residents shelter in regional reception centers and 170 took up the offer ahead of the camp clearance, the prefecture said.
Following the evacuation, the property owners sealed off access to the site and the city of Calais will install boulders to prevent it from being reoccupied, the prefecture added.
Hundreds of migrants gather along the coast around Calais in hopes of crossing the English Channel. Police regularly carry out camp clearances, a policy criticized by aid groups who say it forces migrants into constant displacement.