School's out: French lessons for migrants on banks of Paris canal

PARIS - Sitting in rows on a grassy embankment overlooking a Paris square, around 50 asylum-seekers recite the alphabet in French following a teacher pointing to letters on a whiteboard.

"Ew," Louise shouts, attempting to make herself heard above the passing traffic and the music spilling out of a nearby bar.

"Ooh!" comes the reply from the group of mostly Sudanese and Afghan youths, struggling to pronounce the tricky French'u'.