Migrants evacuated from makeshift camp near Dunkirk by French authorities

French police have evacuated migrants from a makeshift camp near Dunkirk where it is believed at least 1,500 people had been gathered in the hopes of crossing the English Channel to the UK.

Police circled the camp early on Tuesday (16 November) as migrants began to pack up their few belongings and take them from the ex-industrial site in Grande-Synthe, east of Dunkirk.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said: “When we are dismantling a migrant camp, that’s above all to put people into shelters, especially as winter comes.”

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