French police eject 800 migrants from Dunkirk makeshift camp

French police have cleared more than 800 migrants from a makeshift camp that sprung up outside a gymnasium near the northern port of Dunkirk last spring. The move on Tuesday followed a court ruling that the camp had become a health and security hazard, AFP said.

The mayor of Grande-Synthe opened the gym to migrants last December to keep families out of the cold, and had planned to close it with the return of warmer weather. Hundreds of others, mainly young Iraqi Kurd men, soon began pitching tents around the site while they waited for a chance to try to reach Britain.

Police put the migrants on buses to bring them to shelters elsewhere where they can apply for asylum.

A total of 811 people, including 506 young men and 58 unaccompanied minors, were cleared from the gym and makeshift camp, regional officials say.