The “Jungle” of Calais : 3 CRS slightly injured during clashes – The Point

clashes broke out on Saturday on the outskirts of the “jungle” of Calais between police forces and migrant workers, supported by activists of the ultra-left. Three CRS were slightly injured by stone throwing during these clashes according to the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais.

The CRS caillassés by migrants and activists No borders

These clashes come at a time when the services of the State had prohibited, in the middle of the week, a demonstration in support of migrants, who had to leave the “jungle” to reach the centre of the port city, on Saturday 1st October. Seized in summary proceedings, the administrative court of Lille had validated the ban on Friday night.

“at Around 15 h 40, 200 persons, mostly of No borders and migrant workers, gathered in front of the CRS. As the gathering was prohibited, it was carried out the customary warnings and CRS have pushed the migrants on the band of 100 m (which had been fully decommissioned in early 2016, editor’s NOTE), to the interior of the camp itself,” explained Stephen Desplanques, director of the office of the préfète of the Pas-de-Calais. The CRS were then used tear gas and used a craft pitcher of water. In return, “the CRS have undergone several caillassages of the part of the migrants and No borders,” added Stephen Desplanques, stating that the situation had again become quiet 20 minutes later, around 16 hours.

civilians and journalists assaulted

in The course of these clashes, a photographer of the Agency France-Press has also been slightly wounded, reached by “a stone as big as an apple”, which has a gash in the scalp. His colleague from the Reuters news agency saw the windscreen of his vehicle shattered. According to another correspondent of the Agency France-Presse, the violence would have continued until at least 17: 30. It was impossible to get in and out of the camp of migrants at the level of the main access.

A little later, protesters threw projectiles on trucks using the bypass port, and a police vehicle was damaged, according to this witness, who has heard radio calls from police asking for reinforcements. Despite this, the traffic on the bypass port, which is adjacent to the “Jungle”, is not interrupted in the afternoon, according to the prefecture. On the work zone Marcel Doret, a few hundred meters from there, migrants have tried to disconnect the wires from the batteries of several trucks, according to a police source.

Four buses of protesters blocked before Calais

Shortly before 18 hours, significant reinforcements of gendarmes mobiles were coming near the other entrance of the “jungle”, route de Gravelines, noted the correspondent of the Agency France-Presse. A little earlier, four buses left Paris and carrying approximately 200 people for participating in a banned demonstration in Calais have been locked in at 40 km from the city and had to turn back.

“On 23 January, the group (of the international Coalition of sans-papiers and migrants CISPM, editor’s NOTE) was at the origin of an event which resulted in the flooding of the port of Calais by a group of 200 migrants and the penetration of about 80 on the [ferry] Spirit of Britain,” said Stephen Desplanques to explain the ban of the event. A spokesperson for the CISPM present in one of the coaches, who refused to give his identity, has “condemned this interference with the freedom of movement”.