France calls on Britain to take some 1,500 migrant children left in Calais "Jungle"

Amy R. Connolly

French President Francois Hollande, seen here in September, called on the United Kingdom to take responsibility for some 1,500 unaccompanied children left behind at the Calais migrant camp. Photo by Monika Graff/UPI

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French President Francois Hollande called on the United Kingdom to take responsibility for some 1,500 unaccompanied children left at the Calais migrant camp.

Hollande said children left at the so-called "Jungle" camp would be "very quickly dispatched" to reception centers with the hopes they will be relocated to Britain. The camp was home to some 5,000 migrants from the Middle East until it was demolished earlier this week.

Hollande called on British Prime Minister Theresa May to take in more migrant children. So far, the United Kingdom has agreed to take about 250 children from the Calais camp.

"I talked yesterday with the British prime minister, as [French Interior Minister] Bernard Cazeneuve did with his British counterpart, so that the British can go to those centers with those minors and take their share to welcome them in Britain," Hollande said Saturday.

Hollande hailed the closure of the camp a success, saying "there were no incidents from start to finish."

"We had to rise to the challenge of the refugee issue. We could not tolerate the camp and we will not tolerate any others," he said.