In a pre-Olympic Games cleanup effort, French authorities conducted a dawn operation to clear out a makeshift migrant camp in central Paris. The aid group Le Revers de la Medaille stated that the operation was part of a larger campaign to remove migrants from the streets of the capital and “make room for the beautiful Paris postcard” in preparation for the upcoming games in July.
Police officers urged the migrants, mostly men and boys from West Africa, to pack up their tents and belongings and board a bus to be taken to a transit center outside the city. However, only a few individuals actually boarded the bus, with the majority choosing to walk away carrying their possessions.
The migrants were offered temporary housing in the town of Angers for three weeks, but some declined out of fear of being isolated and abandoned once the temporary accommodation period ended. Antoine de Clerck, coordinator of Le Revers de la Medaille, described the clear-out as a form of “social cleansing” ahead of the Olympic Games, as similar operations have been carried out in the past.
Migrant camps in France are typically dismantled every spring following the end of a winter-time truce that limits evictions during cold weather. The situation highlights the ongoing challenges faced by asylum seekers and the lack of long-term solutions for their housing and integration.