Families moved out of Calais migrant camp, leaving it empty

A migrant looks at the remains of a shop burnt in the makeshift migrant camp near Calais, northern France, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. Firefighters have doused several dozen fires set by migrants as they left the makeshift camp where they have been living near the northern French city of Calais. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (The Associated Press)

In this image taken from video, a bus carrying migrants leaves the migrant camp in Calais France Wednesday Nov. 2, 2016. French authorities began busing underage migrants Wednesday out of Calais to processing centers around France, as the government tries to bring a definitive end to the notorious migrant camp in this English Channel city. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

The last residents of Calais' sprawling migrant camp are being evacuated — up to 400 women and children being transferred to family centers around France so the government can shut the camp for good.

The migrants had been housed in a municipal building near the English Channel shore that became the anchor of the camp, also known as the "jungle."

The families are being bused Thursday to processing centers where they can seek asylum in France or Britain, regional administration spokesman Steve Barbet said.

Over the past 10 days, authorities have moved nearly 7,000 people out of the camp to sites around France.

Migrants fleeing fighting and poverty in the Mideast and Africa converged on Calais to try to sneak to Britain by hiding out in freight trucks.