In Paris, more than 2,000 migrants sleep on the sidewalks











A last count carried out by the association France Terre d’asile on Wednesday counted 2,039 migrants living in tents in the streets of northern Paris. The prefecture explains this situation by a “saturation of the accommodation centres” and announces the forthcoming opening in Ile-de-France of 1,200 new sheltering places.

The street camps in northern Paris are constantly expanding, to the great displeasure of NGOs and the collectives that help them. The association France Terre d’asile (FTA), which makes maraudes in the capital, counted Wednesday, January 9, 2,039 people who live under tents on the city’s sidewalks.

The week before, FTA had counted 1,728 migrants in the camps, taking a base of two people per tent. “The number is increasing daily. If we do nothing, there will be 3,000 at the end of January, 4,000 in February…”, warns Pierre Henry, general manager of the association, contacted by InfoMigrants.





Migrants are gathered in several areas: more than 800 people are in the area of the Porte de la Chapelle where tents are crowded under the A1 motorway and near the ring road. Other smaller but equally unhealthy camps have been set up in Saint-Denis, Porte de Clignancourt or Porte de la Villette, in the north of the capital, where Sudanese migrants in particular have set up their tents in the middle of traffic, on a roundabout strewn with waste and rubble.

How can such an increase be explained? The regional prefecture, contacted by AFP, explains that Ile-de-France experienced a “45% increase in the number of asylum seekers” in 2018 compared to “20% at national level”. According to the authorities, this situation has led to “saturation of migrant accommodation centres”. In September, however, the prefecture advanced the number of 9,000 places available in the Paris region.

In response to this situation, “the government will strengthen the accommodation facilities for asylum seekers in the coming days. Thus, 1,200 sheltering places for migrants will soon open in Ile-de-France, thanks to the support of the Ministry of Territorial Cohesion,” said Prefect Michel Cadot.

The Director of FTA welcomes such an announcement but denounces a lack of a long-term migration policy. “We are always late for the reality of the camps, we are constantly running after dramatic situations,” sighs Pierre Henry. “For two years now, I have been calling for a first reception system in Paris but also in the regional capitals” in order to relieve congestion in the capital.

In an article published in the Sunday newspaper (JDD) at the end of December, 14 NGOs, including Médecins sans frontières (MSF) and Secours catholique, accused the State of “deliberately endangering” migrants by forcing them to make themselves almost “invisible”. They also asked Emmanuel Macron “to provide rapid accommodation for people living on the street”.

Source: Infomigrant



