Calais migrants arrive in small French town

(25 Oct 2016) French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Tuesday that 1,918 people from the Calais migrant camp had been sent to 80 locations around the country. In the village of Chardonnay, in eastern France, the welcome was lukewarm, according to local media. Three Sudanese migrants told the Associated Press that while the rural village was not what they were originally expecting, it's their only option at the moment. "I want to be safe here. I want to be safe because when I go back in my country it's problem for me," said Mohamed Abdallah. Work crews continued to dismantle the make-shift camp in Calais on Tuesday, with thousands more people remained still waiting to be relocated. Authorities started emptying people from the camp on the French side of the English Channel on Monday in a first step toward its demolition. Chardonnay resident Christophe Lambert said the migrants' arrival may be mutually beneficial, but others in the village were not as optimistic. "There's a number of people who are against and have expressed it. There have been petitions, a demonstration, a public meeting...it's been tough," said fellow Chardonnay resident Fabienne Durcy. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/c13230fc4a53ee9fff3f531fa66b57d6 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork