President Francois Hollande says he hopes authorities can relocate as many as 9000 migrants massed in a squalid camp in Calais to reception centres across France in the coming weeks.
Hollande, visiting one of France's 164 such reception centres in the city of Tours on Saturday, reiterated his pledge to shut the Calais camp, known as "the jungle".
He said conditions there are "not acceptable", especially for those fleeing war. The camp has become a symbol of his government's failure to tackle Europe's migrant crisis.
The reception centres will hold 40-50 people for up to four months, Hollande said, as their cases are examined. Migrants who don't seek asylum will be deported. Many local conservative politicians have resisted the centres.
Hollande is scheduled to visit Calais on Monday.
