Nearly 1 300 minors at Calais 'Jungle' - charity

Nearly 1 300 minors are among thousands of migrants living in squalid conditions at the "Jungle" migrant camp soon to be demolished in northern France, a charity said on Wednesday.

The figure is a steep jump from the 861 minors the group France Terre d'Asile counted at the sprawling site in late August, its director Pierre Henry noted.

In a census on Monday and Tuesday, the charity counted 1 290 minors of whom nearly 500 had family in Britain, Henry said, adding that "95% of them say they want to go to Britain".

The makeshift settlement has become a focal point in France of Europe's migrant crisis, the subject of heated debate among politicians and a constant source of tension with Britain.