Calais camp to be dismantled

French President Francois Hollande said yesterday the sprawling "Jungle" migrant camp in Calais would be dismantled by the end of this year under a plan to spread asylum seekers around the country.

"I have come to Calais to confirm the decision that I took with the government... to dismantle (the camp) definitively, entirely and rapidly, that means by the end of the year," Hollande said on his first visit to Calais as president.

Hollande called on British authorities to help in assisting the migrants, most of whom are desperate to reach Britain.

"I am determined to see the British authorities play their part in the humanitarian effort that France is undertaking" in Calais, Hollande said, flanked by security forces.

Between 7,000 and 10,000 migrants are currently living in the "Jungle", the launchpad for their attempts to stow away on lorries heading across the Channel to England.

Hollande met police, local politicians, NGOs and business leaders in the northern port city but was not expected to visit the camp itself.

The Socialist president has been under pressure from right-wing rivals to close down the "Jungle".

A flurry of preparations in Calais suggest the operation to raze the collection of makeshift shelters may begin shortly.

The government has said the migrants, who are mostly from Sudan and Afghanistan, will be moved to 164 reception centres around the country "before winter".

Hollande said Britain's vote to exit the European Union did not diminish its responsibility for the migrants camped across the Channel.

"Just because the United Kingdom has taken a sovereign decision, it does not mean it is freed from its obligations towards France," he said.

Hollande said the vote also had no effect on the bilateral Le Touquet agreement which effectively means that the British border extends to Calais's ferry ports, where British immigration officials check passports and inspect vehicles.

Hollande's visit comes just days after his conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy -- who is hoping to return as president in next year's election -- visited Calais to promote his tough line on migration.

Migration has been a low-key issue of Hollande's four-year presidency.

But he has been forced to take a stronger stance on the issue, under pressure from Sarkozy and far-right leader Marine Le Pen.