migrants Paris school
Migrants and refugees gather in the courtyard as they wait to be evicted from the Lycee Jean-Quarre, an empty secondary school in the 19th district in Paris Philippe Wojazer/Reuters

Paris will open its first refugee camp in October, with the centre to hold 400 male asylum seekers, Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. The camp will be built in the French capital's northern 18th arrondissement, and aims to replace makeshift refugee camps that have been constructed in the city.

"We have to invent new measures to move beyond the current situation," Hidalgo said at a press conference in Paris, reported France 24.

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"This refugee camp corresponds to our values… We are acting with humanity."

Hidalgo said a second camp for women, children, and "vulnerable individuals" would be set up by the end of the year.

The project is likely to cost €6.5m (£5.4m, $7.2m), with 80% of the sum to be provided by the City of Paris.

Police have dismantled several makeshift refugee camps in Paris this year, with some confrontations reportedly resulting in clashes between police and asylum seekers.

Housing minister Emmanuelle Cosse said in June that more than 1,000 refugees had made their way to the city after plans to build the camps were announced. Cosse had opposed plans for city authorities to build the centres.

The announcement comes a day after protesters blocked one of the main roads to Calais, and demanded the closure of the Jungle refugee camp its outskirts, where approximately 10,000 asylum seekers live, many seeking to enter the UK.

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