Full Breakdown
Ten Years After Calais’ “Jungle”: Persistent Evictions and Rising Police Violence
By Drooid · · How we work
Background & Context
A decade after the demolition of the “Jungle” – the former large makeshift settlement in Calais – successive UK governments have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on joint initiatives with France, including payments for French coastal police enforcement and the “zero point de fixation” policy intended to prevent new large encampments.
Current Conditions and Statistics
About 4,000 people remain in smaller camps across Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne, with the predominant nationalities still Eritrean, Sudanese, Somali, Iranian and Afghan. Since the Jungle’s removal, more than 200,000 asylum seekers have crossed the Channel to the UK. Small-boat arrivals have fallen from over 41,000 in 2025 to roughly 21,000 so far this year, a decline attributed partly to fewer overall irregular migrations and to frequent windy days that make crossings harder.
Evictions of makeshift sites now occur on average once every 48 hours. Human Rights Observers counted 539 evictions affecting 3,792 people in Calais last year, noting that firewood and other essentials are often seized. The charity Utopia 56 reported a 40 % increase in police-directed violence toward asylum seekers between April and August 2026 compared with the same period in the prior year. Charities continue to supply tents, food and phone-charging stations, but displaced residents report repeated loss of possessions during police actions.
Official Statements & Responses
Rob Jones, director general of operations at the National Crime Agency, told MPs that UK-France cooperation is causing the people-smuggling business model to “start to shake”. French authorities have banned ten far-right agitators from entering the country after documented harassment of camp residents. Katie Hall, advocacy lead at Project Play, said the organization has observed an escalation in border violence affecting children and families.
Verbatim Quotes
“In recent years, we have seen an escalation in violence against everyone at the border – including children and families,” — Katie Hall, advocacy lead at Project Play
Impact on Asylum Seekers
Adam, a Sudanese electrical-engineering student, describes living in a tent while attending a charity-run phone-charging session. He notes that the average number of crossing attempts per person has risen from three to seven, and that families are sometimes forcibly separated, with parents prevented from reaching children already on boats.