**Police in the French port of Calais have sealed off a warehouse which has been occupied by about 100 illegal immigrants since Saturday.**Riot police have been letting the migrants out but not back in.
Immigration Minister Eric Besson said he was looking at ways to end the “unacceptable” occupation.
Calais attracts migrants seeking to cross into the UK. Last September, France closed down a makeshift camp in the area known as “the jungle”.
‘Manipulative zealots’
Campaign groups had rented the building as a shelter for the migrants - mainly from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Police have set up a security cordon around the building.
“The police are allowing the migrants to leave but not to enter,” said activist Rodolphe Nettier.
Mr Besson said France would not let a “new jungle” spring up in northern France.
It would “serve as a rear base for human trafficking rings near the port of Calais”.
Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart said she was ready to sign an eviction order and wanted the situation resolved in the “next 24 to 48 hours so that we don’t allow zealots to manipulate us and risk triggering an extreme response”.
French officials were criticised by human rights groups after closing the “jungle”.
They said it had become a haven for people-smuggling gangs and a no-go zone for local residents.
Makeshift, insanitary camps sprang up after French officials closed the Red Cross centre at Sangatte in November 2002.