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Controversial history of Calais asylum seekers
22.09.09
The presence of would-be asylum seekers in Calais near the mouth of the Channel Tunnel has long been a prickly issue.
French police look set to raze "the jungle" camp today and detain around 1,500 people from Afghanistan.
The closure of the camp is the latest event in a chequered history of asylum seekers coming to Calais.
A settlement in Sangatte was closed in 2002 amid fears that it was being used by people trying to enter Britain illegally.
Around 68,000 people passed through the camp in a five-year period, according to UN figures.
Since then migrants have stayed in makeshift tents throughout the area, and one of the encampments which emerged was "the jungle".
In July this year the United Nations refugee agency set up an office to provide advice to "undocumented aliens" in Calais and northern France.
It said that the numbers they were dealing with were "very small" compared to Sangatte, and that they were giving information about the asylum system.
But the issue has remained controversial. Thousands of people are detained every year trying to enter the UK via France.
Last year alone 28,000 Afghans were caught at Channel ports.
Desperate migrants have also made several attempts to get through the Channel Tunnel. In June, riot police had to be called in to stop anarchists from storming the passageway.
The protesters opposed border controls and aimed to help potential asylum seekers by forcing their way through.
