'No camps in France,' vows Hollande, under rightwing pressure

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: AFP

Tours (France) (AFP) - President Francois Hollande, under pressure from the right wing, on Saturday stepped up his pledge to combat illegal migration, vowing to dismantle a squalid settlement near Calais and prevent similar camps from becoming established in France.

"There will be no camps in France," said Hollande, two days ahead of a maiden visit to the notorious "Jungle" settlement near Calais, where between 7,000 and 10,000 desperate migrants live.

The Socialist leader spelt out promises to "completely dismantle" the Jungle and set up "reception and orientation centres around the country" to accommodate asylum-seekers.

Hollande's government has vowed to scrap the Jungle "before winter" and a flurry of preparations underway there suggest the operation may begin shortly.

Read more: https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/32718838/no-camps-in-france-vows-hollande-under-rightwing-pressure/#page1

[Bradical79]

1. Sounds reasonable in principle

You can't just have a gigantic camp of thousands of migrants and refugees, and "reception and oreintation centers" should have been set up around the country already. Of course the devil is in the details. I don't know how you take the camp down quickly before winter without creating an ugly situation though.

[ColemanMaskell]

2. The French government could surely find housing for ten thousand homeless

I would think it would not be that hard for a government that size to find reasonable accommodation for what are essentially ten thousand homeless people, if they seriously want to do it.

The problem with that particular camp is the location, which will continue to attract migrants wanting to move on to their preferred destinations. The location will still be a magnet. But fair enough to insist that it isn't for overnight camping.

[Blue_Tires]

3. The problem of it is England doesn't want these folks

and for reasons only God knows, these migrants don't want to naturalize in France...