A French judge just ruled that half of the Calais Jungle can be demolished

A French judge ruled on Thursday that half of the refugee camp in Calais, known as the Jungle, could be destroyed, except for places of worship, schools and a few communal buildings.

"The order is applicable, except for common social areas," the spokesman for the Pas-de-Calais prefect's office said.

Charities working in the Calais Jungle had challenged in court the French government's plan to destroy over half of the sprawling refugee camp.

On Monday, Judge Valerie Quemener toured the Jungle and was supposed to decide on Tuesday as to whether authorities were allowed to destroy the habitations of roughly 3,500 people.

But the judge was forced to delay her decision. Clare Moseley, from the association Care4Calais, who was at the hearing, told Business Insider that the judge had said that "due to the amount of evidence submitted by both sides," she would only make a decision on Wednesday or Thursday.

The part of the Jungle that will be demolished houses many cafes and restaurants and most of the communal areas that were built by refugees and volunteers to make life in the camp bearable.

The youth centre, which offers support to many unaccompanied young boys, numerous places of worship, the legal centre, the vaccination centre, three schools and the camp's library, Jungle Books, as well as a communal kitchen that distributes 2,000 meals a day, are all set to be demolished.

"If they go ahead with the bulldozing it will be a terrible waste," Moseley had said. "Over the last six months an army of volunteers have spent thousands of pounds and thousands of hours building shelters, community space, medical facilities, and schools. This will all be wasted."