Refugee camp in Paris emptied, razed
PARIS — Police on Wednesday cleared out about 1,000 people from the largest makeshift camp in the French capital that had become a focal point in France’s immigration debate.
The mainly African refugees were moved out of their tent camp along a canal used by joggers and cyclists on Paris’ northeast edge, put in buses and taken to gymnasiums in the region as bulldozers ripped out the tents. Several hundred of them apparently fled before the evacuation.
Two refugees drowned this month in canals along encampments and others have been injured amid rising tensions in the filthy, crowded camps, adding pressure for authorities to act. But the evacuation was delayed for months because of bickering over what to do with them.
The encampment held at least 1,400 people, officials have said, but 1,016 were evacuated. Two other makeshift camps in Paris holding about 1,000 people are expected to be cleared next week.
Police have cleared out some 28,000 people from Paris camps in the past three years, but the arrivals continue.
The camps have been at the heart of a political debate between French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo over how to handle the influx. The mayor and dozens of associations pressed for the refugees to be sheltered once dislodged from their encampments, as in the past. The minister dragged his feet.
Hidalgo, who has paid weekly visits to the encampment, said she felt good that the refugees were being taken to shelters, but “I think we could have done without the four-month wait.”