French Riot Police Remove Hundreds of Migrants from Calais Camps

Hundreds of migrants from Asia, the Middle East and Africa are being removed by riot police from camps set up near the northern French port of Calais.

The move comes just days after the French anti-immigration party Front National swept to victory in the European elections defeating Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists and the mainstream centre-right opposition party.

The evictions at the makeshift camps are taking place for reasons of public health and safety and between 600 and 800 immigrants are believed to reside in the three camps police are tackling.

Calais is a hub for immigrants who attempt to cross the channel and enter Britain after fleeing poverty or conflicts in third world countries.

"This is sad, and it changes nothing," an Iraqi resident of the camps, named only as Jalal, told Reuters.

"I'll move my tent somewhere else ... but I am staying put (in Calais). What else can I do. I will try again to make the crossing. I did not come here just to give up now."

Denis Robin, prefect for the Pas-de-Calais region, had announced the evictions before the European elections.

Other migrants have attempted to cross the English Channel by boarding lorries to no avail and have pledged to remain in Calais despite the camp evictions.

"I will try again and again," an Eritrean man told BBC News.

The Pas-de-Calais region saw the Front National accrue 34% of the vote three times its 2009 polling results.