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UK street artist Banksy paints at Calais camp

The Local France
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UK street artist Banksy paints at Calais camp
A picture shows Steve Jobs in Calais. Photo: Banksy

Banksy has turned heads after painting pictures around the northern port city of Calais, one of which shows Apple founder Steve Jobs apparently as a refugee.

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The images were painted around Calais, a northern French town that plays host to the Jungle migrant camp, home to 4,500 refugees. 
 
They were apparently the work of Banksy, a UK street artist whose real identity remains a mystery. 
 
He posted a message on his site explaining the images, one of which shows Steve Jobs - the son of a Syrian migrant - apparently as a refugee himself.

The image was posted on a concrete wall in the Jungle. 
 
 
"We're often led to believe migration is a drain on the country's resources but Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian migrant," Banksy said in a statement. 
 
"Apple is the world's most profitable company, it pays over $7bn (£4.6bn) a year in taxes - and it only exists because they allowed in a young man from Homs."
 
Another image was painted near the coast line, showing what appears to be a young child gazing out to see through a telescope. On top of the child's telescope is a vulture staring down. 
 
 
 
A third, above, was painted near a pharmacy in the town, and shows a version of the famous French painting The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault . The painting of a group of desperate survivors on a raft after the wreck of the Medusa is given a modern, refugee-themed twist with the survivors trying to get the attention of a luxury boat in the distance. 
 
Calais authorities have no intention of removing the grafitti, announcing plans to cover them with plastic panels. 
 
"We found out about the presence of this artwork on Friday and have decided to protect it, so it is not damaged," a Calais city spokeswoman said.
 
Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart told local newspaper Nord Littoral that the artwork was an opportunity for the city, praising the works' "positive message".

Also on the artist's site were images from the shelters his team built in the Calais camp, put together with the structural elements from his "bemusement park" that closed several months ago in the UK. 

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