French police evacuated over 1,600 migrants from two camps in northern Paris on Thursday, one of the biggest operations of its kind in the city for years. It came a day after the government unveiled tough new measures to “take back control” of immigration.
Around 600 police officers escorted the migrants from tents where coaches transported them to reception centers, in an operation that began at about 6:00am (0500 GMT), AFP reported.
Police said they evacuated a total of 1,606 migrants from two camps near the Porte de la Chapelle, which are sheltered under part of the ring road round that surrounds the capital. Many of the occupants, which included families with children, said they were from Afghanistan or sub-Saharan Africa.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said it was the 59th operation to clear migrant camps since 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and misery in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa headed for Europe.