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French police and migrants clash in Calais

Confrontation came after 200 migrants and some 50 protesters assembled to protest against living conditions in the nearby 'Jungle' camp.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

French police have fired tear gas and a water cannon at migrants and protesters who gathered in defiance of a ban outside the shanty town near Calais known as the Jungle, reports news.com.au.

About 200 migrants and some 50 protesters assembled under a bridge on Saturday to protest against living conditions in the nearby camp that President François Hollande has vowed to close by the end of the year.

Police clashed with migrants as they pushed them back to the camp while activists threw stones at the security forces.

Another 150 protesters who left Paris on Saturday aboard four coaches were blocked by police at a toll road about 48 km short of the northern port.

Thousands of migrants fleeing war and poverty, from Afghanistan to Syria, have converged on Calais over the past two years.

Read more of this Reuters report pubslihed by news.com.au.