France's biggest camp for migrants hoping to illegally enter Britain from its northern coast was "deliberately" burned down on Monday night, local authorities said, rekindling a heated immigration debate just two weeks before French presidential elections.

In the wake of the blaze, presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron warned that France could no longer act as the UK's "border guard".

Home to an estimated 1,500 migrants, the Grande-Synthe camp near Dunkirk had become the de facto new Calais "jungle" since the notorious sprawling tent city was bulldozed in October, and it was seen as a key people trafficking hub for migrants seeking to illegally enter the UK.

But on Monday night, the camp was engulfed in flames in the wake of a dispute between rival Afghan and Kurdish gangs, with police firing volleys of tear gas to separate the groups. At least ten people were injured, some from knife wounds, in the "extremely violent" clashes.