The “largest squat” in France – which sheltered up to 450 migrants, most of them in a regular situation according to the associations – was being evacuated this Wednesday morning in the southern suburbs of Paris, 100 days before the Olympic Games . The operation, expected for several days, prompted many homeless people who had found refuge in this abandoned business in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne), to leave the premises before the arrival of the police forces. ‘order.
Some 250 agents were mobilized for this operation, according to the Val-de-Marne prefecture. Suitcases in hand, containing all the effects of their life in France, with worried faces, the approximately 300 occupants who still remained left the area shortly after 8:00 a.m. Some of them had been living in these premises for several months, unable to find accommodation in private housing or while waiting for social housing.
According to the United Migrants association, which regularly provides them with assistance, 80% of them are legally in France. For several months, the Revers de la Medal collective, which brings together associations helping precarious people living on the street, has been warning about the fate of the homeless whose makeshift camps are being dismantled at a more sustained pace. approaching the Olympics (July 26 – August 11) according to this collective.