Calais: Global No Border squat on Rue Caillette safe for now

Today (June 18) the court in Calais declared the municipality’s request for the eviction of the squat on Rue Caillette “unreceivable” for procedural reasons. This means that the city will have to resubmit and argue their case all over again before being able to evict, giving those living there more valuable time before being forced back onto Calais’ streets. Here is an open letter which was submitted for the defence by the occupants.

The ineptitude of the municipality in how they handled this case has been surprising although very welcome. Apparently, when forced to respect the law and abide by procedure the city does not know what to do, having gotten so accustomed to breaking down doors and throwing people out over the years (old habits die hard). [Read More]

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Calais: Squatting case adjourned

The UK and French government have been trying to ‘free’ Calais of migrants for years through a strategy of tight surveillance at the border and relentless harassment by the police in town.

In Calais undocumented people, asylum seekers and refugees sleep wherever they can find shelter : in abandoned buildings, under bridges, in parks or the jungles in and around town. Evictions are frequent, leaving people of all ages to sleep rough.
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Calais (France): Egyptian squat demolished and destroyed

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An Egyptian squat was evicted this morning and demolished instantly. The squat has been home to about 30 people for the last 6 months+, with sometimes 50+ people living crammed together during the winter period.
Everyone was made to leave the building at about 9am this morning, taking with them what they could instantly carry. The rest was taken by city workers to the dump.

This was the last remaining squat amongst a demolished street by old Africa House on rue Descartes. It is no longer just a matter of raids and evictions… now systematic demolitions are becoming the norm.
It seems these demolitions must be part of a wider centralised planning effort by the town hall, as a more systematic attack to eradicate people’s means of shelter. [Read More]

Calais: Police break-in to squat to serve bailiff’s court papers

At around 2.30pm a bailiff arrived at a squat near the theatre accompanied with around 25+ Police Nationale and PAF, supposedly – the bailiff said – just to serve court papers on the squat. Instead of posting the court papers through the letterbox, they smashed the bottom half of the front door from the outside. Again breaking an entry without a court order. Most of the cops entered the building, taking pictures and asking all non-european people their name and nationality. Racist profiling once more. There was about 40 people in the house… many from Sudan, Syria, Eqypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan etc. After around one hour, the cops left the building.

[Read More]

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Calais (France): Illegal eviction of new legal squat

March 28th: At 3pm the cops discovered a new squat. The occupants had put up the legal notice article 423-8 and proof that they had been in the building for more than 48 hours – but the police, as so often, did not care about their own laws. Luckily there were only a few people inside who managed to escape before the police broke an illegal entry. Legally they would have needed a court order to enter, which they never presented. [Read More]

Calais: Squat eviction resisted

A new squat near the post office resisted attempts to evict occupants several times today (Feb. 20th 2013 – s!n). The squat is owned by the city, in the morning a city worker attempted enter the building, but was unable to unlock the door. Later in the day a second attempt was made by a locksmith, accompanied by a Police Nationale, but again they were not able to get in.

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Calais: After the jungles

Three years ago the Pashto jungle was evicted and razed to the ground, under the eyes and camera lenses of the world media. 276 Afghans, almost half of them underage boys, were arrested. Some No Borders activists and charity volunteers, who had tried to defend them, were brutally assaulted by police. The Afghans were all released the day after by order of the judges, as the police had not followed procedures.

[Read More]

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Calais: Another African squat threatened with eviction

The latest ‘Africa House’ is now at constant risk of eviction. About 40 people from Northern Africa, mainly Sudan, stay here. If evicted they will be made homeless and forced to live on the streets again.

A formal notice of eviction was fixed to the door of the squat on 13th August 2012 without any translation, stating the building will be evicted for reasons of hygiene and structural dangers. The Court of Appeal has already granted the owners, the Commune of Calais, ‘uncontested’ eviction procedure claiming none of the occupants could be identified therefore cannot contest the decision. [Read More]

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Calais: Olympics cleansing

People needed on the ground over the summer, many evictions are happening constantly… ‘Olympic cleansing’ is driving people out of Calais making it very difficult for ‘migrants’ to exist here.

We have an exciting new space: a large warehouse for workshops, kitchens, library, bikes and much more…
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Calais: Olympic Evictions of Migrant Squats

The lead up to the Olympics has seen a rapid increase of police brutality against migrant communities in Calais and their supporters. Calais is an ‘Olympic village’ during the Games and in preparation the authorities have begun cleaning up the streets to make Calais ‘migrant free’.
[Read More]

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Calais: Demonstrators storm public housing office

Yesterday at 3pm over thirty people demonstrated at a social housing organisation, the Office Public de l’Habitat de Calais (OPH), to demand that they do not go through with the planned imminent eviction which will make many people in Calais, both with and without papers, homeless in the middle of winter.

[Read More]

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Brussels: Gathering against repression in Calais, sept. 25th 2009

25/09: Assembly against repression in Calais

Solidarity with the migrants in Calais and Belgium. Gathering against the repression of migrants in Calais, this Friday September 25th 5 pm at French embassy in Brussels. Address : boulevard du Régent 42, 1000 Brussels.

The “dismantlement” of “the jungle” has started this tuesday (September 22nd). Police and military have evacuated several hundred persons and destroyed the homes of hundreds of migrants (not withstanding the resistance of many activists). [Read More]