French police have arrested almost 150 migrants near the port of
Calais in a raid on a sprawling tent city of people trying to
secretly cross to Britain, authorities said.
Hundreds of migrants, mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea,
live in makeshift tents in the woods near Calais, known locally as
the jungle, as they wait for their chance to board a truck and
cross the Channel.
The three-hour raid on Tuesday morning was aimed at cutting off the
smuggling channels, local authorities said.
The arrested migrants are being held for questioning.
France is struggling to control the growing jungle, which sprang up
after it closed a Red Cross shelter in the area in 2002 that
Britain saw as a haven for illegal migrants.
French Immigration Minister Eric Besson is expected to visit Calais
later this week.
He said earlier this month that more people have managed to
cross the Channel over the past year or two, and that
people-trafficking networks were becoming more sophisticated.
Many of the migrants speak English and believe it will be easier to
find work in Britain.
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