PARIS
French authorities have launched an inquiry after the release of a video that appears to show French police officers violently assaulting migrants in the northern town of Calais as they attempt to board trucks headed for the U.K.
The General Inspectorate of the National Police said on Tuesday it had launched an internal probe.
The two-minute video released Monday by Calais Migrant Solidarity appears to show officers of the French riot police chasing, kicking, pushing and threatening migrants.
"These are just some examples of the everyday police brutality against people who attempt to cross the channel from Calais to the U.K. by hiding inside trucks," Calais Migrant Solidarity said in a statement.
According to the group, the video was filmed on May 5, a day after French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited the migrants’ camps to urge them to stay in France and seek asylum.
A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released in January said that asylum seekers and migrants were regularly being harassed by French police.
It said that 44 migrants had witnessed violence by police including beatings and attacks with pepper spray in November and December of 2014.
In February 2015, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks said he was "very concerned" about the plight of thousands of migrants in Calais, northern France.
He urged the French authorities to "improve the living conditions of migrants and provide better protection from violent xenophobic attacks."
Around 2,400 migrants are currently at the ferry port city, according to HRW.
A report issued by the Secours Catholique NGO in April said migrants spend an average of 75 days in the town before reaching their destination, usually the U.K.
