A camp that housed more than 1,500 migrants in northern France has been destroyed in a huge fire.
BBC News reports the blaze at Grande-Synthe camp, near Dunkirk, began on Monday night during a fight between Afghans and Kurds. At least ten people were injured, six with knife wounds.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The fire represents just the latest trouble for Grande-Synthe," reports the Telegraph. Last November, a man was stabbed at the camp, which authorities in February warned was ripe for unrest.
Bruno Le Roux, France's interior minister, had already acknowledged safety fears, pledging a "progressive dismantling" of Grande-Synthe during a Senate hearing.
"We can't let things continue like this," he said.
The £2m camp, built in collaboration with the charity Doctors Without Borders, has seen its population grow since its opening in March 2016.
At the time, it was billed as the first camp with humanitarian standards. "It was meant to be a world away from the squalid mess of the former Jungle camp situated 23 miles away in Calais," says the Daily Mail.
Significantly, the fire has come at an important moment in the French political calendar.
"The seemingly-insurmountable issue of migrant camps in the north of France has come into sharp focus with the first round of the French presidential elections this month and far-right champion Marine Le Pen poised to sail through to the second round," says the Telegraph.
-
How Democrats are turning DOJ lemons into partisan lemonadeTODAY’S BIG QUESTION As the Trump administration continues to try — and fail — at indicting its political enemies, Democratic lawmakers have begun seizing the moment for themselves
-
ICE’s new targets post-Minnesota retreatIn the Spotlight Several cities are reportedly on ICE’s list for immigration crackdowns
-
‘Those rights don’t exist to protect criminals’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
