French police on Wednesday removed dozens of migrants, including families with young children, from the forecourt of Paris City Hall as the capital prepared to mark 100 days until the start of the Olympic Games.
Police arrived at dawn to remove about 50 people, mostly women and children aged 3 to 10, who were bundled up in strollers, under blankets or covered with plastic sheets to shield against the rain.
The migrants packed their belongings and boarded a bus to temporary government housing in the town of Besançon in eastern France.
Aid workers have expressed concern that the move on Wednesday is the beginning of a broader effort by Paris authorities to clear out migrants and others sleeping rough in the capital before the Olympic Games without providing longer-term housing options.
Olympics organizers have said they are working with aid groups to find solutions.
Many of the families are from French-speaking
African countries, including Burkina Faso, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
Aid groups such as Utopia 56, have distributed food, blankets and diapers and helped some of them find temporary lodging for a night or two.
All the migrants were taken to a bus and offered a temporary place to stay provided by local government authorities in Besancon. This move has raised concerns among aid workers, who fear it signals the commencement of a broader initiative by Parisian officials to remove migrants and homeless individuals from the city centre before the Olympics this summer, without offering sustainable housing solutions.
The French police removed dozens of migrants from the forecourt of Paris City Hall as the capital gets ready to begin its 100-day countdown to the start of the Olympic Games.
Police arrived at dawn to remove about 50 people.
Most were women and children aged 3 months to 10 years, bundled up in strollers, under blankets or covered with plastic sheets to shield against the rain while sleeping in the plaza.
Under police supervision, migrants packed their belongings and boarded a bus to temporary government housing in the town of Besançon in eastern France .
While Olympic organisers have expressed their collaboration with aid organisations to address the needs of those living on the streets, many families, primarily from French-speaking African nations such as Burkina Faso, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Senegal, have been residing near the Paris City Hall for varying durations, ranging from days to months.
Peoplesmind
