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PARIS, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The migrant camp in the French northern port city of Calais, also called "the jungle", will be totally evacuated and closed by Wednesday evening, according to a regional official.

Migrants with their suitcases leave the shanty town in northern Calais, France, on Oct. 24, 2016. France on Monday started to clear, in what they called a "calm and controlled manner," the shanty town in northern Calais where about 9,000 migrants have been living, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said. (Xinhua/John Fiddler)

"Our mission is accomplished. Today is the end of the jungle. There are no more migrants," Calais regional prefect Fabienne Buccio said.

"A page has been turned...These people are welcomed in France and will be able to start a new life," she added.

Buccio said about 5,000 migrants had been transferred to centers across the country and another 1,000 were still queuing up to leave the camp.

On Monday, France started to clear the migrant camp in the port city where thousands of people fleeing war and poverty have been living for 18 months in difficult conditions.

The French government pledged that 9,000 places will be made available at 460 "reception and orientation centers" for refugees. They will be divided into groups of 40 to 50 people for a limited period of between three and four months.

Migrants who fit the asylum criteria will stay in France while those who do not will be repatriated.