Raids, raids and raids

As we had already said, the policy of the french State in Calais now is one of true appartheid. It is impossible to walk down the street and not be witness of racial profiling episodes, arrests, or at least to notice the massive police presence.

We know that the police keeps on arresting people, at least at the train stations of Calais, Hazebrouck and Lille, that most of our non-white friends who live in Calais are controlled several times a day, whether with or without the good papers, and that from Calais people are brought to several deport centers around France.

Here is a brief overview of the arrests we witnessed last week, when we were monitoring different places in Calais. Part of the information reported has been collected by people who run a number for legal support; another part comes from people we know. It is sure the list is incomplete: more people have been arrested, and we didn’t hear about it.

Arrests on the 3rd of November

-15 people arrested around the central train station

-1 minor arrested near Coquelles

Arrests on the 30th of October

-1 person registered as underage arrested in the central train station, then released

Arrests on the 29th of October

-1 person from Kuwait arrested in the city

-8 people arrested in town around 4.30pm

-1 Afghan minor person arrested in Fontinettes train station around 6.30pm

Arrests on the 28th of October

-3 Afghan people who were supposed to go to a CAO arrested in town, at night, two of them might be deported to Italy on October 31st

Arrests on the 27th of October

-2 activists arrested and put in custody in L‘Ecole des Dunes in the Jungle because they didn’t have authorization, around 10am (they are now released without charges)

-a group of minors taken by the police around 11am in the jungle

-3 people violently arrested and put in custody during a press conference around 11.30am (they are now released without charges)

-3 people arrested in town around 4pm

-1 person arrested in front of the central train station around 5.30pm

-7 people arrested in Frethun train station around 6pm

-2 Afghan people arrested in town, near the Jungle around 7.30pm

-3 young Eritrean and Oromo people arrested near the central train station around 8.30pm

-a group of young people chased by 15 cops in full gear in front of the town hall and 2 of them arrested around 9pm

-3 Sudanese people with bracelets for underage/minors arrested while on bikes in Rue Mollien (between the town and jungle)

-1 person arrested in the train station

-1 person arrested near the jungle

-1 person arrested

-1 Eritrean minor person arrested

-1 person arrested in the central train station

-2 persons arrested in the central train station

Arrests on the 26th of October

-6 or 7 people controlled by the police and at least one of them arrested

-1 young person arrested by the PAF in the Frethun train station

Arrests on the 25th of October

-4 people arrested under the bridge in the jungle, including 3 Afghan people who stayed in deport center

-7 persons arrested in the Frethun train station (more than 30 people put in deport center)

Arrests on the 24th of October

-more than 10 people controlled and taken by the police in the central train station, including 4 still in deport center