The French coast guard rescued 64 migrants in the Channel at the weekend who were attempting to cross the stretch of water towards the UK. The migrants, who were traveling on two separate boats, included children and a pregnant woman.
Doubled police patrols along French beaches, drones and radar, says British interior minister Priti Patel, will deter boat migrants. This year, 8,000 have risked the dangerous crossing over the English Channel.
Mohamed, an Egyptian, arrived in France in 2006 as a teenager. He has built his entire adult life in France. During his 15 years on French soil, the young man has "done everything to integrate." But despite working, paying taxes and owning his own apartment, he lives under the threat of expulsion.
Following the demolition of an informal migrant camp on the Place de la République in central Paris, various NGOs have drawn attention to the fact that migrants are regularly victims of police violence across France. They also say that the use of force in such contexts is futile – especially without a coordinated migrant reception strategy.
Italian authorities in northwestern Italy stopped 13 migrants as they were walking along the Aurelia state highway towards the border with France.
Lydia Veyrat, a Beninese healthcare assistant employed in a home for the elderly, received an order to leave French territory. The local prefect argues that she is not sufficiently integrated into society. Her lawyer has filed a formal appeal with the interior ministry, denouncing the "ludicrous situation".
Authorities have removed a new camp just a week after hundreds of migrants were left homeless in the French capital. Police used tear gas to drive the inhabitants out and decried an "illegal occupation of public space."
A number of countries, especially north-west African nations, are reluctant to issue consular papers for their undocumented nationals in France. These papers are needed for deportation. The problem is particularly acute for irregular migrants on terror watch-lists who are not wanted back in their home countries. To speed up expulsions, France has threatened to reduce visas to the countries in question.
In a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus, French health teams on Tuesday conducted tests and carefully explained sanitation guidelines to migrants relocated from a dismantled camp. InfoMigrants reports from a hotel in a Parisian suburb where 60 migrants have been provided accommodation.
A illegal encampment housing some 2,000 asylum-seekers from conflict zones like Somalia and Aghanistan was cleared by police. Migrant advocates worry the camp's inhabitants will end up back on the street.
Paris is keeping around a dozen shower facilities open for people living rough during the October 30 - December 1 coronavirus lockdown. The showers are free of charge, and users only need to bring their own toiletries. The InfoMigrants newsroom has compiled a list of these facilities and their opening hours.
In the past 12 months, authorities have carried out more than 1,000 evictions of makeshift shelters across France, a new report shows. Aid groups warn that the evictions only make the situation worse for those whose homes are dismantled.