
A pretty French village of just 2,500 people which said 'non' to hosting Calais Jungle migrants in a 19th Century château has lost its bitter battle with the French government to keep them out.

Picturesque Allex, the gateway to Provence, has become an emblem of the backlash against the French government's plan to bus migrants cleared from the Jungle into communities throughout France.

It fought against the authorities who wanted to move 50 migrants into the elegant old manor house in the village in southern France.

But now the village has been forced to admit defeat as the first of the new arrivals moved in to the stone château.

However Gérard Crozier claimed a small victory after the French government agreed to send only families to Allex and no single men travelling alone.

Mr Crozier, 56, said he felt ‘tired, frustrated and steamrollered by the state’, but added that at least his fight had ‘made the government listen’.

'I was forced to accept that migrants will come to Allex, but it is a victory that no single men will come,' he told MailOnline.

New home: A 19th Century château in the village of Allex is at the centre of a migration row in France. Fifty migrants from the Calais Jungle are moving into the former school against the will of the majority of people living there. The first 11 refugees have already arrived with the remaining 39 expected in the coming days.

Protests: Picturesque Allex, the gateway to Provence, has seen a wave of protests against the decision to move 50 migrants into the château. The anger of the local people, pictured, has become an emblem of the backlash against the French Government's plan to bus single men cleared from the Jungle into communities throughout France.

'Tired and angry': The migrants' arrival has been met with fury by village mayor Gérard Crozier, above, who spent months negotiating with the French government to stop the move. Mr Crozier says the will of people in Allex has been steamrollered. Despite being upset, he has claimed a small victory after the government agreed to send families only, not single men

Resentment: The château, a former school, was previously owned by 89-year-old Madame Salvignon, pictured left with her carer, who ran it as a farm for 35 years before selling it to an addicts’ recovery organisation in 1996. Now she lives in a small house next door. ‘Nobody asked us what we thought about migrants being moved in here,’ she said

'My role now is to maintain the peace in the village because the silent majority is worried and afraid,' he added.

But residents in the sleepy French village are furious at the move. They say they have not been consulted and that the Calais Jungle has just been dumped on their doorstep.

One angry resident had to be restrained during a confrontation at a public meeting held to discuss the new arrivals when he shouted: 'What will you do when someone rapes our daughters?'

Jean Marie Brun, who lives opposite the 19th Century Château de Pergaud where the migrants will be housed, is alarmed at the decision. The retired stonemason told MailOnline: 'When we heard that 50 migrants are coming, and will be given access to jobs and healthcare, it was difficult to understand.'

‘It’s hard to find a job around here, and you have to wait two or three months to find a doctor. How can they think it's rational to bring migrants to this place?

‘People who are against migrants are poor people who ask for help from the State but don’t get it.’

His wife, Bernadette, added: 'We are a little bit afraid because we saw the jungle on TV and we are worried it is coming here.'

Many people living in Allex are struggling to understand why the council is spending taxpayers' money on housing 50 migrants in the manor house at the same time as making major cuts in spending on public services.

New home: One of the first to arrive, Javeed, 20, pictured above, an Afghan who lived in the Jungle for several months, told MailOnline: 'I like it here. It is peaceful and good.' Javeed is the first of 11 to arrive with more expected in the coming days

The historic château, pictured, is a former school and since 1996 had been used a treatment centre for alcoholics and drug addicts, which was closed last year due to a lack of funding. Residents are angry that the council has been forced to accept 50 migrants at taxpayers' expense at a time when they have also cut public spending

A little boy, pictured, one of 11 of the new arrives from the Calais Jungle, looks out of the window of his new home. They have arrived at a time when the council has cut back on school trips for local children. The council is also spending €1million on a nursing home in the town, while residents say the elderly could live in the château, pictured

Public spats: The town is divided over the agreement, with residents clashing at public meetings to discuss the plans. The mayor called a referendum, which was scrapped after the government said it did not have the authority to hold a vote. In unprecedented scenes, the far right and the hard left fought in the street at a public meeting and were separated by police

The building itself, a former school, was used as a recovery centre for alcoholics and drug addicts until last year when it was closed due to insufficient funding.

The council is also cutting back on school trips for local children because there is no money to pay for them. Meanwhile local government is spending about €1million on a new nursing home when the elderly could have been housed in the château, residents say.

Despite claiming victory, Mr Crozier, a conservative mayor, can barely contain his resentment at what he sees as the French Government’s disregard for local people's views - 27 per cent of whom voted for the far-Right Front National in elections last year.

Last month, Mr Crozier was forced to cancel a referendum on whether to accept migrants in Allex after a French court ruled that the local council had no powers to stage such a vote.

Speaking at his office in the mayoralty building, the mayor said: ‘Our voice has been gagged by the authorities. The people have been gagged, and I have been gagged, too. We have been gagged with Sellotape. This is the reality. It is not a good time for democracy.'

Eleven migrants have been housed there so far, including two women and three children. The remaining 39 are expected to be transferred to the château in the coming days.

One of the first to arrive, Javeed, 20, an Afghan who lived in the Jungle for several months, told MailOnline: 'I like it here. It is peaceful and good.'

He was standing outside the château listening to music on his iPhone. Inside, five other more male migrants were playing pool in a communal area and listening to Middle Eastern music on a stereo. A child was seen peering out of an upstairs window.

The château, a former school, was previously owned by 89-year-old Madame Salvignon, who ran it as a farm for 35 years before selling it to an addicts’ recovery organisation in 1996.

Now she lives in a small house next door. ‘Nobody asked us what we thought about migrants being moved in here,’ she said. ‘The police only told us at the last minute, and brought them in at 4am so nobody could see what was going on. What are they trying to hide?

‘The local government is spending €1million of tax money on a new retirement home in Allex, when there is a beautiful château here which it is giving to the migrants.’

Veronique Durin, 52, her carer, added: ‘I’m single and I’m afraid for my security when the migrants come. They are all from the Calais jungle and many of them are aggressive. I’m afraid they will damage my car or harm me.

‘We cannot solve the problem of the Calais jungle by spreading it all over France.’

In a draconian effort to assuage local people’s concerns about crime and disorder, the mayor is setting up an eight-person committee to monitor every detail of the migrants’ lives.

‘People can get paranoid, but they are right to be afraid,’ Crozier said. ‘We will know everything about each and every migrant – their mentality, their health problems, if they are happy or not. We want to be very close to what happens in their building.’

Welcome: Not everyone in the village is bristling at the newcomers. Claude Chiari, 84, a retired writer, pictured, told MailOnline: ‘I am open to migrants. I want to welcome them with dignity. They are human and I welcome any human on earth.'

But the majority of people in Allex, pictured, are angry at refugees being dumped on their doorstep. Celine Vignal, 45, a mother-of-five, who refused to be pictured, estimate that it will cost €400,000 to move the migrants in. Vignal said: ‘The local government has just cut school trips to save money, but they can find money for the migrants.'

A major operation is ongoing to move 8,000 migrants to all corners of France - and beyond - as the Calais Jungle is cleared

Most of the residents said that they were against the arrival of the migrants. However, Claude Chiari, 84, a retired writer, has clashed with his neighbours over their bristling at the newcomers.

‘I am open to migrants. I want to welcome them with dignity,’ he said. ‘They are human and I welcome any human on earth.

‘I regret the ignorance of the French people. People here are not educated on this question. We have to learn about the cultures of other countries.

‘Migrants are the victims of problems. My parents welcomed refugees from Spain in 1936, during the Spanish civil war. They taught me we need to assume our responsibility.

‘I have arguments with my neighbours about this every day, and some of them won’t speak to me. But I have had a long life, and I am a cosmopolitan.’

The move to house them there, replicated across France where 8,000 migrants have been moved from the Jungle to 600 reception centres around the country, has divided Allex.

After a recent town meeting, far right activists had to be separated from hard-Left protesters by police as they clashed in the street.

Celine Vignal, 45, a mother-of-five, and her husband, Olivier Soubeyrand, 43, founded Collectif pour la Sauvegarde d’Allex (CSA), a community pressure group which campaigns against the transfer of migrants to the village.

‘The local government has just cut school trips to save money, but they can find money for the migrants,’ Vignal said. ‘It will cost €400,000 to move the migrants in. The economy is very difficult, and the only people being helped are the migrants.

‘In the beginning, we had good will towards them, but now it’s hard to understand the government’s attitude. We are not racist, we are just worried.’

Vignal said she is a centre-Left voter, while Soubeyrand aligned himself with the centre-Right. They stressed that neither of them support the Front National, and they set up their group to distance themselves from the far-Right party after it ‘hijacked’ anti-migrant demonstrations in the village.

‘France is a country of revolution, and now it we are seeing a borderline revolution,’ Soubeyrand said. ‘We are the silent majority, and we are losing our patience. We work and pay our taxes, and the fruit of our work is going to pay for migrants.

‘The economy is bad and a lot of farmers are becoming very poor. There is a high suicide rate in rural areas. We get no help, but the migrants are helped. Most of them are economic migrants from Africa. Why defend and support these people? There’s no logic.

‘They refuse to listen to us, and this is very dangerous for democracy. France is supposed to be a democracy, not a dictatorship, yet they won’t give us a referendum. I’m worried this will end in civil war.’

Allex is one of a growing number of French towns and villages which are resisting moves to re-house migrants from the Calais Jungle.

Residents of Forges-les-Bains, a town of 3,700 people, voted by 61 per cent to reject migrants in a referendum held in September. The poll was deemed invalid by central government, and 91 African migrants have now been housed in the town.

Backlash: Allex is one of a growing number of French towns and villages which are resisting moves to re-house migrants from the Calais Jungle. Residents of Forges-les-Bains, a town of 3,700 people, has protested against the planned arrivals, pictured

Fightback: In Forges-les-Bains, pictured, they voted by 61 per cent to reject migrants in a referendum held in September. The poll was deemed invalid by central government, and 91 African migrants have now been housed in the town

Other examples include the villages of Croisilles and Pierrefeu-du-Var, south of Allex, both of which have seen anti-migrant demonstrations.

Local leaders in these and other municipalities may now seek pledges from the authorities that no single men will be transferred to their areas.

The mayor was adamant that Allex was not a racist village, and emphasised that it was merely a matter of fair play. Two local families had taken migrants in voluntarily, he added.