French law enforcement cleared a camp of approximately 50 migrants from the Paris City Hall on Wednesday. The move comes as the city prepares for the start of the Olympic Games. Mothers, children, and infants comprised the majority of the group. They were brought onto a bus destined for temporary government-sponsored accommodations in Besançon, located in eastern France.
Aid groups raised concerns that the move signals the potential start of a wider campaign by officials to clean up the city’s streets of migrant communities ahead of the Olympic Games. Paris authorities seem to have no clear plans for providing these citizens with long-standing housing solutions.
Olympic organizers have claimed to be collaborating with aid groups to find solutions for the multitude of migrants currently on the city’s streets, many of whom are refugees or job seekers. A significant number of these individuals are from French-speaking African countries.
France is one of many European countries that have struggled with massive numbers of migrants. In December, the country introduced legislation curbing the number of migrants permitted into the nation, strengthening requirements for French citizenship, streamlining migrant deportation procedures, and delaying migrants’ access to state benefits.
The expulsion of migrants from Paris City Hall is not the first time the country’s management of the impending Olympic Games has caused controversy. Last year, France announced it was banning athletes participating in the games from wearing Islamic head scarves. In March, promotional art for the games removed the cross from the famed Dôme des Invalides.
show less
