Masked protesters threw smoke bombs at a members-only club over the potential demolition of the Calais Jungle
A group of masked protestors threw smoke bombs at a hotel and members-only club in east London as a French government official attended an event inside 0n Tuesday night.
Up to a dozen people dressed in black staged the protest - hurling smoke bombs towards Shoreditch House and holding signs bearing support for the thousands of refugees who face being evicted from the Calais camp known as the Jungle.
French Ambassador for International Investment and CEO of Business France Muriel Penicaud was attending the Creative France UK launch event when the incident occurred.
Passersby were advised to stay clear of the venue as police blockaded the entrance.
Witnesses say protesters handed out flyers with messages and slogans such as 'Solidarity to Calais' and 'No Borders' while some carried banners which appeared to have anarchist symbols drawn onto them.
The French judiciary is due to rule on whether local authorities can legally bulldoze a southern section of the makeshift camp in Calais, which is currently a temporary home to an estimated population of up to 3,500 migrants and refugees.
"Across Europe the walls are going up again. Some of the technologies of control and surveillance are new, developed by the high-tech 'creative industries' the French government is celebrating at tonight's event. Borders are weapons of fear and division, used by the elites to carve up the world's wealth and turn us against each other. Against their vicious borders let's create networks of solidarity and cultures of openness and cut down their fences everywhere."
In a statement given to London's Evening Standard, the French embassy said:
"Everyone agrees that life conditions in the 'jungle' are not ideal. The French authorities are deploying huge efforts to cater for the migrants. Our objective is that everyone should be housed in humane conditions."
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that no arrests have been made but enquiries will continue.