Paris will build two camps to house almost 1,000 refugees in an attempt to tackle the growing number of men, women and children sleeping rough on the streets, the mayor has said, reports The Guardian.
The building of the camps in the French capital comes as the government faces pressure to dismantle the main refugee camp near the port of Calais, the inhabitants of which are blamed by residents for an increase in crime and the struggles of the local economy.
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, said one camp would be built for men, and the other for women and children, with the first opening in mid October.
“We have to come up with new ways of overcoming the situation. Things are saturated,” she told a press conference. “These migrant camps reflect our values.”
Hidalgo said the camps would be temporary and cost €6.5m (£5.5m) to set up. The Paris municipal authorities would cover 80% of this cost.