The Olympic Games begin in Paris at the end of July. As the world event approaches, more and more migrant camps in and around Paris are being evacuated, criticize aid organizations – like now next to the Paris City Hall.
French police have cleared a migrant camp near Paris City Hall. The officials woke up around 100 teenagers and young men from West Africa early in the morning and asked them to pack their things. The police said the operation was necessary for security reasons, especially because the camp was also near schools.
Migrants should be moved
Officials told the migrants, many of whom are minors and seeking residency permits, that they could be temporarily housed in the Loire region city of Angers for three weeks if they wished. A bus was waiting nearby to take the asylum seekers to a transit center in the Paris region.
Only two or three men got on the bus. Most of the others left with their belongings. Some said they feared they would be left alone in Angers, 250 kilometers southwest of the capital, when the three weeks were up.
Probably more evictions before the Olympic Games
Evictions of migrant camps take place every spring after the end of the winter break. But aid groups say efforts will be stepped up before the start of the Paris Olympics at the end of July. People would be sent to shelters far from the capital instead of being housed in the Paris region, where many asylum seekers await their court dates.
A week ago there were reports that several tent gatherings in Paris were being evacuated. The aid organizations particularly criticize the fact that the authorities often clear the camps without suggesting working solutions to the problems of the homeless people.