Paris To Open First Refugee Camps Following French Government’s Announcement To Dismantle Camp In Calais

As France continues to see thousands of refugees pouring into its capital city, the Paris mayor has proposed a solution. Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris announced Tuesday the French capital would open its first refugee camps sometime in mid-October, according to The Independent.

Two camps will be erected in two different locations in Paris. One facility will be for men and one for women and children. Refugees will be allowed to stay in the camp for five to 10 days and will be able to receive both psychological and medical care.

“That means setting up a reception centre where migrants can rest and get a medical check-up and psychological help as well as advice on their status and they can expect,” Hidalgo stated, according to Yahoo news. “If more sites need to be created, we will do so if necessary.”

The camp for men will be built at a former railroad station in the north of Paris, and the women’s camp will be built in the southeast of Paris in Ivry-sur-Seine. The sites will provide a temporary solution for refugees as they wait for a place in a refugee hostel. Yahoo News reported that the initial capacity for the men’s shelter will be able to hold a reported 400 people. The women and children’s camp will have around 600 beds by the end of 2016.

Hidalgo said the camps would be a haven for homeless migrants living within the city and that it would follow United Nations regulations. The camps will be temporary and will eventually be vacated, according to Hidalgo.

“The sites chosen are temporary sites, which are destined to receive other projects within two to four years,” Hidalgo stated, according to the Telegraph.

Paris has struggled to accommodate the growing number of migrants that pass through the city, and refugee camps have popped up all over the city in recent years.

The opening of the first official refugee camps followed an announcement from the French government that it would be breaking up a large migrant camp in Calais, commonly referred to as the “Jungle,” The Telegraph reported. France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced Friday the camp would be dismantled "as quickly as possible."