Images that are difficult to watch. The police proceeded this Tuesday to the dismantling of a camp of about a thousand migrants in Grande-Synthe (North). A scene far from rare, as underlined by the report unveiled the same day by the Interassociative Observatory of Collective Expulsions from Informal Places of Life, founded by several associations including Médecins du monde, the League of Human Rights, the Romeurope Collective or the Abbé-Pierre Foundation.
According to his calculations, from November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021, 1,330 evictions from makeshift dwellings (slums, camps, squats, tents, etc.) took place in mainland France, which represents 172,000 people targeted, or even 472 people evicted by day on average. “A record year, since these figures are up 23% since 2020 and 15% compared to 2019. One would have thought that the public authorities would be more lenient during the health crisis, this is not the case. Moreover, 292 expulsions took place during the last two confinements (that of October 30 to December 15, 2020 and that of April 3 to May 3, 2021) ”, comments Manuel Domergue, director of studies at the Abbé-Pierre Foundation.
“Some places of life are evicted almost daily in Calais”
The vast majority of these operations (77%) concern the towns of Calaisis (Calais, Marck, Coquelles) and Grande-Synthe. “France cannot allow exiled people to cross the Channel, hence the fight against their points of attachment which results in expulsions. Some places of life are evicted almost daily in Calais, and once or twice a week in Grande-Synthe, which amounts to harassment ”, explains Laurine Chabal, coordinator for Human rights observers. Gironde, Ile-de-France and Haute-Garonne are also affected by these evictions, but to a lesser extent.
Even more astonishing: the winter truce did not slow down the movement: “64% of evictions took place during this period. The cold temperatures add further to the drama of losing one’s shelter, ”says Manuel Domergue. The associations also denounce the hasty decisions. However, an interministerial instruction “aimed at giving a new impetus to the elimination of illegal camps and shanty towns” was published in 2018. A text which certainly provided for the reduction of these makeshift settlements, but also to “support” the populations concerned. “Towards integration into French society”, which implies “sustainable access to employment” and “continuing to promote the education of children”. “But its application depends on the goodwill of the prefects”, indicates Manuel Domergue.
“These are traumatic moments, especially for children”
As a result, “only 4% of expulsions are subject to a prior diagnosis, which would allow their situation and their needs to be taken into account, even though the interministerial instruction of 2018 provides for it. And in 91% of cases, no rehousing solution is considered upstream. For the remaining 9%, precarious solutions are offered, a few days in a social hotel, in an emergency accommodation center or in a gymnasium, ”explains Manuel Domergue.
Besides the method, it is also the way in which his expulsions are carried out that is shocking. The arrival of the police in the early morning, the destruction of the tents, the injunction to leave the premises as quickly as possible, and sometimes even physical attacks on people. “They see themselves being treated like delinquents and 72% of them lose personal belongings. These are traumatic moments, especially for children, ”says Manuel Domergue. “Migrants from Calais and Grande-Synthe are sometimes placed in buses whose destination they do not know, for lack of an interpreter to explain to them,” notes Laurine Chabal.
Another report drives the point home
To avoid experiencing such moments, some people who live in these makeshift settlements anticipate events and leave the premises themselves when they feel the threat of eviction approaching, after having received several visits from the police. Which at least ensures them to keep their personal belongings. Losing your shelter, even if it is not comfortable, has serious consequences for its inhabitants. “In particular psychological. This leads to breaks in the education of children, medical follow-ups… ”, observes Manuel Domergue.
Chance of timing: this report falls on the same day as the publication of that of a parliamentary committee of inquiry on migration. He believes that the State must abandon the policy of “zero point of fixation” on the northern coast, which leads to evictions from camps almost daily, which have “massive” consequences on the daily life of migrants. What to move the lines?