Illustration of an official distribution of meals to migrants in Calais.

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Mathieu Pattier / SIPA

No more scattered solidarity.

The Pas-de-Calais prefecture has announced that it will prohibit non-state-mandated associations from distributing meals to migrants in Calais, from Friday until the end of September.

"It is forbidden to distribute free food and drink [in some twenty streets, quays, city center squares] to put an end to public order disturbances and limit the health risks associated with undeclared gatherings", can we read in a decree, published Thursday evening.

Non-compliance with social distancing measures

Insofar as the State has mandated an association, La Vie Active, to provide "four daily distributions of meals", which the State makes available to migrants 38 water taps five days a week, of which "22 are accessible 7 7 days ”and that water is distributed during meals, the prefecture considers that“ all the services provided make it possible to provide migrants with sufficient humanitarian services in view of the needs of this population, in particular food ”.

The prefecture considers in particular that the meals distributed by associations not mandated by the State are "characterized by non-compliance with social distancing measures as part of the fight against Covid-19, that they create nuisances and that waste is left on site ”.

Prevent the creation of attachment points

This new decree is published while the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin received, Thursday, the mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart (LR).

"The Minister of the Interior told me that special attention would now be paid to the city center in order to prevent the creation of fixing points (...) and to prohibit the distribution of meals organized in a totally anarchic, ”she said in a statement.

The town hall had issued a decree going in this direction, in October 2019. But in December of the same year, the administrative court of Lille ruled the town hall "incompetent" to make orders aimed at prohibiting in certain places the distribution of meals to migrants, as it also did in March 2017.

"The police being state-controlled in the commune of Calais, it was up to the prefect to make such decisions", concluded the court.

Indignant associations

At the end of July, Médecins du monde, Amnesty International, Médecins sans frontières, Secours Catholique and Cimade were indignant that, in this town and its surroundings, hundreds of migrants "no longer have access to drinking water, showers, food ”.

According to Natacha Bouchart, the Ministry of the Interior also assured that 30 judicial police officers would arrive in Calais by the end of the month.

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  • Prefecture

  • Lille

  • Calais

  • Food aid

  • Migrants