French president vows to clear Paris streets of migrant camp
French President Francois Hollande vowed Saturday to shut down a bulging migrant camp in Paris, after his government moved 5,000 people from a camp in northern France in an overdue effort to tackle the migrant crisis.
The makeshift camps in Calais on the English Channel and in the French capital have become visible symbols of the country's struggle to accommodate migrants and refugees seeking better lives in Europe.
"We cannot tolerate camps," Hollande said, calling the street encampments "not worthy" of France. "We will evacuate the camps in Paris, because it cannot be a long-lasting solution." He also notably played down concerns that the closure of the Calais camp this week has driven its residents to the sidewalks of Paris, notably near the Stalingrad subway station.
