French police have begun expelling around 650 migrants from camps in the northern port of Calais, despite opposition from rights groups supporting asylum seekers.
Several of the migrants left voluntarily when they saw the busloads of riot police arrive and surround their camps, from which they had hoped to cross to Britain.
Confusion was widespread, notably at one of the largest camps housing mainly Syrian and Afghan exiles, as the migrants say they have nowhere else to go.
"The people are on edge and are looking for the place where they will feel the safest," said Cecile Bossy, from the France-based Doctors of the World NGO.
The authorities say the expulsion is aimed at stopping an outbreak of scabies in the camps.
The 200 riot police and gendarmes were met with protests at the Batellerie camp, where activists from the No Border rights group blocked the road.
A second camp, on Rue Lamy, was the scene of disturbances among the Syrian migrants, La Voix du Nord newspaper reported.
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