Paris accused of ‘social cleansing’ before Olympics as hundreds evicted from France’s biggest squat
Police have evicted hundreds of people from the biggest squat in France, in a southern suburb of Paris, prompting fresh accusations from charities that authorities are seeking to clear refugees, asylum seekers and homeless people from the capital before the Olympics.
The squat – which was in an abandoned bus company headquarters in Vitry-sur-Seine – had been home to up to 450 people, many of whom had refugee status, legal paperwork and jobs in France but who were unable to find proper housing. As they left the building they were encouraged to board buses to other parts of the country.
The early morning eviction by police in riot gear began just as France celebrated the milestone of 100 days until the start of the Paris Games. Charities have said the state and authorities want to clear homeless people from the streets and empty the squats to make Paris and its suburbs look better for the games, which begin on 26 July.
Clutching their belongings, 300 people left the squat at Vitry-surSeine calmly as about 250 police and gendarmes arrived. More than 100 others had already left before dawn. Buses waited outside, ready to take people to the central city of Orleans or the south-western city of Bordeaux.
Many of those who had lived in the squat said they did not want to leave the Paris region because they had jobs there. “I want to stay here,” said Abakar, 29, from Sudan. He was in Paris to follow a logistics course and had been promised a job in a supermarket.
The 450 people living at the squat
‘They are trying to clear up the area for tourists and international media’
Jhila Prentis
Volunteer at the squat
included 50 women and 20 children, at least 10 of whom attended local schools. The squat had doubled in size after hundreds of asylum seekers, refugees and homeless people were evicted last year from another squat in Île-St-Denis near the Olympic Village site.
Paul Alauzy of the humanitarian organisation Médecins du Monde had been giving health support at the Vitry-sur-Seine squat for three years. He is also a spokesperson for the collective Revers de la Médaille (the Other Side of the Medal), made up of charities and aid workers who warn that the Olympic Games are affecting the most vulnerable homeless people in the Paris area.
Alauzy said the collective of charities and aid associations denounced what they called “the effects of social cleansing for the Olympic Games”. He said there had been a steady pace of clearing groups of homeless people or squats for the past year.
“If there hadn’t been the Olympic Games, the population of this squat would not have doubled,” Alauzy said. “The numbers grew because of the eviction of a squat near the Olympic Village.” He said the system put in place to bus people far from Paris and the surrounding area was concerning.
He recounted: “I arrived at 5.30am. Hundreds of people were waking up, brushing their teeth and packing their last things when the police arrived.”
According to Alauzy, 80% of the people living at the squat – many from Sudan, Ethiopia or Eritrea – had refugee status or were asylum seekers and had legal documentation. Many had jobs, including on building sites and in carpentry.
One Sudanese man had showed his legal documentation, long-term work contract and good payslips. “But he is a foreigner in France, and when you are Sudanese, even if you have all that paperwork it’s impossible to find housing. Landlords won’t accept you,” Alauzy said.
He said many of the people did not have proper access to healthcare. “There is also the question of psychological issues. People arrive at a squat and think they will finally have a place to live. But in the Paris banlieue, in a building with 450 people, in a collective squat with very little chance of integrating in the country, after a traumatic journey here, mental health is a concern.”
Jhila Prentis, a volunteer at the squat, said: “We know the rate of evictions from buildings and camps has accelerated over the past few months. This building had no planning permission … The building evicted in Île-St-Denis is still empty. We can only draw the conclusion that they are trying to clear up the area for the arrival of tourists and international media for the Olympics.
“The situation of not having a place to sleep existed before the Olympics. It’s a crisis affecting a lot of European countries, including France. These people were living in a squat, while over 50% had refugee status and many had work. They should have appropriate housing.”