On Saturday 28 May around 150 people took to the streets of Calais in a demonstration against the brutal repression against migrants in the French border town. Despite a heavy police presence and smatterings of rain the event went well: no arrests or cop attacks, just lots of emotion and energy.
The march started at 2.30pm from the "food distribution" cite on Rude de Moscou where sans-papiers are handed their daily gruel, through the main square Place d'Armes and the thoroughfare Rue Royale, ending at the Mairie (Town Hall). At the town hall a wedding party was still going on and blended with the demo's sound system, while cops blocked the doors of the building and riot police were seen waiting inside. With the presence of many undocumented migrants on the march no one was looking for trouble, and the police stayed calm for once in this town. It was a rare chance for migrants in Calais to make themselves seen and heard, occupying the streets, shouting and waving Banners and hand-made placards in many languages.
The demo was part of a French national day of action against racist immigration policies. It was called by a new collective called "D'ailleurs nous sommes d'ici" (rough translation: anyway we're from here") of people involved in solidarity work with migrants in the town, and supported by No Borders Calais as well as trade union members (SUD and CGT), Lille anarchist group, leftist political party NPA, and others. The "official" migrant support organisations such as Salam also supported the demo at least in name, though few of their members were seen on the streets.
French report with more pics:
http://lille.indymedia.org/article25447.html
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