The tents will only be left for a few hours. The police put an end to the occupation of the Place du Palais Royal in the center of Paris during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday by some 450 migrants and association activists who were demanding shelter.
In the space of three minutes, around 8 p.m., hundreds of red, green and blue tents had been deployed in this square opposite the Council of State. Inside, some 450 migrants who had occupied a disused school on rue Erlanger in the 16th arrondissement for 77 days and, not having been recognized as minors by child welfare, demanded shelter from the part of the state.
LFI deputies present on site
In a tense atmosphere and in the midst of jostling, the police, mobilized in large numbers, proceeded during the evening to dismantle the tents, one by one. They used tear gas to carry out the evacuation, ordered by the Paris police headquarters. Pushes, throwing of projectiles and boos responded to the advance of the police.
Around 10:30 p.m., a spokesperson for the Utopia 56 association had reported a large police presence with the key to the arrest of at least twenty people. LFI deputies wearing their tricolor scarf were present at the scene. Shortly after 1 a.m., the police mobilized in large numbers supervised the departure of the last activists and demonstrators in the surrounding streets while the Palais-Royal metro station was closed to the public.
“We are abandoned by France. We have no choice but to demonstrate to show what we are going through,” explained Mohammed Fofanah, originally from Equatorial Guinea, who is one of the 700 migrants who have occupied the disused school since April 4. Without water or electricity, the associations warn of a humanitarian emergency.
The Place du Palais Royal operation was organized by the associations Utopia 56, Les midis du mie, Tara and Timmy, after a court hearing on June 12 relating to the expulsion of these migrants. The deliberation was set for June 30. Yann Manzi of the organization Utopia 56 for his part disputed this date: “We expected an answer within the week. But we are more than 700 inside. It becomes a pressure cooker, it becomes unmanageable. If we do nothing, a tragedy will happen. “We’re already going to stay here all night.” It is possible to occupy the place until June 30, “said Marion Catusse, volunteer with the association Les midis du mie, at the start of the evening.