In Calais, clashes between migrants and the police
A succession of events testified to a deleterious context in Calais (Pas-de-Calais) where several hundred migrants are in makeshift camps, awaiting passage to England. A situation modified for thirty years, but which, regularly, tenses.
Thus, Thursday, December 30, the dismantling of one of the informal living spaces by the police degenerated into violence, while the next day, an altercation between Calaisians and Eritreans turned into a tragedy.
On the evening of December 31, in a residential area near a camp, a couple of Calaisians were allegedly attacked by a group of Eritreans. “A reflection is made to the woman, on the order of insult or provocation, reports the parquet floor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, from testimonies. The man will call friends for backup. “
According to the prosecution, which specifies that the various protagonists were “Very alcoholic”, this man was then beaten by three Eritreans, in particular by means of a chain. In retaliation, his brother took a vehicle, ran into people several times and ran over at least one of them. The latter’s prognosis is underway, while another Eritrean has a fractured tibia and fibula. The Calaisian who was beaten left the hospital with ten days of total incapacity for work.
“The tension is rising”
A judicial investigation was opened on Sunday January 2. The 23-year-old driver from Calais and two Eritreans aged 18 and 23 have been indicted for attempted murder. “These kinds of facts are rare, specifies the parquet floor. The fights that take place are mainly between migrants. “
Without the events being linked, Thursday, December 30, the dismantling of a camp, located on muddy ground near secure parking lots where trucks leaving for England are parked, has degenerated. As a rule, the authorities evacuate informal places of life every two days, to prevent a reconstitution of a slum. These operations are set out by associations and authorities such as the Defender of Rights.
According to Emma (she wishes to remain anonymous), from the NGO Human Rights Observers (HRO), present on site on December 30, “The protocol for seizing cases was not respected”. While migrants should be able to keep their personal belongings on this day, “A cordon of gendarmes and police chased them away so that they left the field without their belongings, running after them. The company [de nettoyage] claimant began to seize tents full of business. The tension is rising “. More than thirty shelters were reportedly seized that day.
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