French police on Tuesday cleared the last migrant tent camp in northeast Paris, moving 427 people to shelters. The operation to tear down the camp, which began at 6:00am (0500 GMT) and lasted two hours, was part of a plan to take migrants off the streets. The migrants, which included four women, were living in 266 tents and makeshift shelters in a canal-side camp.
Dozens of informal settlements have sprung up in recent years around the French capital, and many of the migrants have their sights on the northern Channel port of Calais, a jump-off point for crossings to Britain, AFP said.
The authorities regularly tear down the camps, saying they pose a health hazard. Last week, police moved more than 1,400 migrants, including 93 children, from another camp in northern Paris.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner had promised to clear all migrant camps from the city by the end of last year, by opening more shelters for asylum seekers and by deporting those whose claims are rejected. President Emmanuel Macron said last year that France must end its “lax” approach to immigration.