Unrest Arrives in French Towns Ahead of Migrants Amid Plan to Raze Calais ‘Jungle’ Relocation plan threatens to spread crisis in Calais to corners of France untouched by the migrant flow By Noemie Bisserbe
http://www.wsj.com/articles/unrest-arrives-in-french-towns-ahead-of-migrants-amid-plan-to-raze-calais-jungle-1476783025
ALLEX, France—President François Hollande’s plan to resolve the Calais migrant crisis is sowing social unrest across the country as dozens of towns brace for the arrival of refugees by the busloads.
By the end of the year—and as early as this month—Mr. Hollande plans to transfer thousands of migrants from the blighted port to shelters in far-flung corners of France.
The goal is to dismantle the Jungle, a sprawling migrant camp skirting the port that has become a symbol of Europe’s failure to manage the flow of migrants across its borders from conflict zones in Syria, Afghanistan and beyond. Waves of migrants seeking passage to the U.K. have become bottled up in the port on the French side of the English Channel, living in sordid conditions and hurting the local economy.
For people living in towns and villages such as Allex, a close-knit hilltop community of 2,500 people in Provence, the relocation plan threatens to spread the crisis in Calais to corners of France untouched by the migrant flow.
“We won’t let our town become another Calais,” said a 45-year-old mason and father of three. The man joined a hundred other townspeople who recently marched through Allex to protest the arrival of 50 migrants at a local château the government has converted into a shelter.
The anti-immigrant National Front party and other right-wing politicians are seizing on the public anger to build support ahead of presidential elections in May, organizing referendums and petitioning mayors to stop the spread of “mini-Calais.”
At times, the opposition has turned violent. In September, a shelter located in a bedroom community outside Paris was flooded and set on fire. Earlier this month, police found bullet holes in buildings slated to host migrants in two different towns.
So far, the government isn’t backing down, insisting the political firestorm won’t affect its plans. “We keep local officials informed of our plans, but we’re not asking for their opinion,” Housing Minister Emmanuelle Cosse said. The government hasn’t disclosed the complete list of towns and cities set to receive migrants for fear of new acts of violence, officials say. CONTINUE AT SITE
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