Calais residents refuse to relocate after court ruling

French state representatives went from tent to tent trying to convince residents in a sprawling migrant camp in the port city of Calais to leave, a day after a court ruled that a mass eviction could go ahead.

Authorities wanted a ruling allowing them to raze the camp, where thousands of migrants from the world’s trouble spots have gathered to try to sneak across the English Channel to Britain via ferry or a Eurotunnel rail service.

However, Thursday’s court decision fell short of allowing a complete destruction of buildings at the site, concluding that the makeshift shelters where migrants sleep can be demolished — but that common spaces like places of worship, schools, and a library that have sprung up must stand.