The migrants France cannot move on: A month after their makeshift camp was cleared, 1,500 refugees once again sleep among the rocks meant to deter them under Paris bridge

  • Some 2,800 people were removed from a makeshift camp in Paris' La Chapelle neighborhood in July
  • Rocks were put up under the bridge to prevent people from returning, but now 1,500 are back 
  • Their makeshift camp is located near a  migrant reception centre, but this is already full to the brim

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At least 1,500 refugees and migrants are living in a makeshift camp underneath a bridge in Paris, just one month after French authorities cleared thousands from the site.

In July, some 2,800 people were removed from the site in the La Chapelle neighbourhood, and large rocks placed on the side of the motorway to prevent their return.

However, this week, dozens of tents could be seen erected among the rocks, with some using the boulders to build a makeshift roof over their heads, sleeping in the space between them. 

New homes: A migrant sits underneath a railway bridge in a makeshift  settlement in Paris' La Chapelle neighborhood on the city's northern edge

New homes: A migrant sits underneath a railway bridge in a makeshift settlement in Paris' La Chapelle neighborhood on the city's northern edge

The makeshift camp is located next to an official refugee reception centre in Porte de la Chapelle, but this only admits 50 people, and those living there can only stay for a fortnight.

Since its opening last year, it has become a magnet for thousands, who end up setting up alternative homes in the streets nearby. 

Number of refugees in Paris have swelled since the destruction of the so-called 'Jungle' camp in Calais last year, when around 8,000 migrants were dispersed.

Today, officials in Calais announced that migrants in the area are getting access to toilets and showers, despite the city's determination to keep them away.

Recamp: Just a few weeks ago, some 2,800 men, women and children were evacuated from the same site in Paris

Recamp: Just a few weeks ago, some 2,800 men, women and children were evacuated from the same site in Paris

Against the odds: Despite huge rocks being placed underneath the bridge by the side of the road to stop people from setting up camp, the migrants and refugees have returned

Against the odds: Despite huge rocks being placed underneath the bridge by the side of the road to stop people from setting up camp, the migrants and refugees have returned

Desperate: The makeshift camp is located next to an official refugee reception centre in Porte de la Chapelle, but this only admits 50 people, and those living there can only stay for a fortnight

Desperate: The makeshift camp is located next to an official refugee reception centre in Porte de la Chapelle, but this only admits 50 people, and those living there can only stay for a fortnight

The re-built migrant camp is located in the north of the city near to the railway tracks for the Eurostar service

The re-built migrant camp is located in the north of the city near to the railway tracks for the Eurostar service

The top government official for the region, Prefect Fabien Sudry, said in a statement Wednesday that ten toilets and seven water stations have been set up at an aid distribution site. He says more will be available by Monday.

The prefecture says the facilities will remain mobile to ensure Calais does not again become a magnet for 'an uncontrolled influx of migrants.'  

Calais' mayor had threatened to defy a ruling ordering the government to help the hundreds of migrants gathered there, most hoping to reach Britain. The ruling said local authorities refusing migrants shelter and water was inhumane.

No way in: A group of young men walk around the tents in the encampment, which has sprung up in the past weeks

No way in: A group of young men walk around the tents in the encampment, which has sprung up in the past weeks

Migrants belongings hang on a stadium fence in the makeshift migrants settlement in the La Chapelle neighborhood

Migrants belongings hang on a stadium fence in the makeshift migrants settlement in the La Chapelle neighborhood

Making a home: The tents line the railway tracks and the road, with tents and mattresses spread out wherever there is space

Making a home: The tents line the railway tracks and the road, with tents and mattresses spread out wherever there is space

Nowhere to go: Since its opening last year, the refugee reception centre in La Chapelle has become a magnet for thousands, who end up setting up alternative homes in the streets nearby

Nowhere to go: Since its opening last year, the refugee reception centre in La Chapelle has become a magnet for thousands, who end up setting up alternative homes in the streets nearby

President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to continue the zero tolerance policy to illegal camps enforced by his predecessors.

Europe's migrant influx began in 2015, centering on Greece, where hundreds of thousands of people, many of them fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Afghanistan, crossed from Turkey.

The crisis receded in 2016 under an agreement with Turkey to clamp down on illegal border crossings.

However, EU authorities say the summer months have seen an increase in the number of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean, fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle-East.