Police in the northern French city of Calais are set to remove about 800 migrants from Asia, the Middle East and Africa occupying camps near the port.
The authorities say the evictions are needed to deal with an outbreak of scabies in the camps, where numbers have swelled in recent months.
Police surrounded the site after a deadline for people to leave expired.
The migrants have been trying to get to Britain, and say they have nowhere else to go after the camps are destroyed.
An Eritrean migrant told the BBC he tried to cross the English Channel by boarding lorries but was stopped by police several times. “I will try again and again,” he said.
The BBC’s Paul Adams at the site says most there believe that England will be a more welcoming place, if only they can get there, BBC informs.
