Video: Banksy’s ‘Les Misérables’ mural criticises treatment of migrants in Calais
British graffiti artist Banksy has criticised the treatment of migrants in Calais with a mural opposite the French embassy in London that depicts a crying Cosette, the orphan girl in the novel “Les Misérables”, engulfed by a cloud of tear gas.
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A bar code at the bottom of the mural links to a YouTube video purporting to show police using tear gas in a raid on a camp in Calais known as the “jungle” earlier this month.
It is not the first time Banksy, whose identity has never been confirmed, has used his artwork to raise awareness about the treatment of migrants. In December, a mural depicting Steve Jobs as a refugee appeared on a wall of a camp in Calais, in direct reference to the Apple founder’s Syrian heritage.
The “jungle” is home to an estimated 4,000 migrants, many of whom have fled war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa with the hopes of eventually reaching Britain.
Click on the video player above to watch the full report.
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