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Gallery|Human Rights

Flames, fear and football as Calais ‘Jungle’ cleared

French government finally moves to clear camp and declares operation a success, despite many refugees returning.

Calais burning
A Sudanese man puts his shoes on, preparing to gather his belongings as a nearby fire burns around 11am. The settlement has existed for years but numbers swelled into the thousands after the European refugee crisis. [Kelly Lynn Lunde/Al Jazeera]
By Kelly Lynn Lunde and Samuel Nacar
Published On 27 Oct 2016

Calais, France – The French government declared the informal refugee camp known as “The Jungle” closed on Wednesday after a police operation to clear and close the sprawling settlement.

A reported 5,596 people were bussed out to various refugee shelters in regions around France.

After much of the main commercial street was destroyed by overnight fires that left at least one refugee needing medical attention after a gas explosion, more blazes broke out the following morning, and eventually spread as firefighters, volunteers and refugees struggled to contain them.

On Wednesday afternoon, riot police began to evacuate the camp, advancing as a human barricade and forcing nearly all residents and volunteers out. 

Hundreds of refugees, though, returned to the camp in the afternoon, many of whom had now lost their shelters. 

Police said they detained four refugees suspected of starting the fires. 

Calais burning
A man runs with clouds of smoke billowing behind him. Exploding gas canisters were a constant threat and plastic and synthetic fabrics that make up much of the camp’s shelters are highly flammable. [Kelly Lynn Lunde/Al Jazeera]
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Calais burning
Eyoub, an Ethiopian, gives a friend a haircut as flames engulf several tents near the centre of the camp. While 5,596 refugees were reported to have been transferred, there are hundreds still left. Eyoub is not sure when and where he will go. [Kelly Lynn Lunde/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
A French fireman pulls a water hose near a row of informal restaurants. As the Jungle is not a formally recognised refugee camp, a robust independent economy developed in recent years, with restaurants, hammams, hotels and shops. [Kelly Lynn Lunde/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
People stand on a hill created when French authorities bulldozed a buffer zone last February along highway N216. The camp exists as a waiting point for refugees hoping to get to the UK, many of whom have family members living there. [Kelly Lynn Lunde/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
French riot police advance outside the perimeter of the Jungle attempting to kettle refugees outside the camp boundary. Police brutality is a common experience among those who attempt to enter trucks or jump trains in an effort to cross illegally into the UK. [Kelly Lynn Lunde/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
A young refugee is pushed back by French riot police after trying to retrieve his identification documents. As authorities advanced across the buffer zone, some refugees were forced to move without being able to gather their belongings. [Kelly Lynn Lunde/Al Jazeera]
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Calais burning
People sit after being forced outside the camp boundaries by police, maintaining a barricade near the bridge. With elections next year, French president François Hollande had promised in September that the Jungle would be emptied and dismantled by the end of the year. [Kelly Lynn Lunde/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
Smoke rises around the container facility housing unaccompanied refugee minors. Some 234 minors have been relocated to the UK, while about 1,200 have been sent to refugee centres elsewhere in France. The remaining number of minors in the camp is unclear. [Samuel Nacar/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
People try to escape flames as they engulf shelters and restaurants. Most informal businesses were shut down by French authorities early last week, effectively severing the economy many residents depended on for livelihood and food. [Samuel Nacar/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
People retreat along the buffer zone as a police barricade advances in an effort to completely evacuate the camp. The British government has pledged £80m to fund private security firms to patrol ports in northern France over the next three years. [Samuel Nacar/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
A fireman puts out smouldering embers as volunteers sit on top of a shelter in the background. [Samuel Nacar/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
Demolition teams began their operation the previous afternoon. The UK has given £36m towards the operation to dismantle the camp. [Samuel Nacar/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
Eritrean men play football after being allowed to return to the camp. [Samuel Nacar/Al Jazeera]
Calais burning
23-year-old Sahen, 23, right, from Afghanistan, sits with a friend near the burnt-out communal tent where he slept during his five months in the Jungle. 'I will sleep here tonight,' he said, gesturing to the cot beside him. [Samuel Nacar/Al Jazeera]