At least five thousand homeless people and migrants were evicted from Paris. The transfers mainly concern people from the suburbs, where the Olympic village is also located.
Photo: Profimedia
The police, in cooperation with the French authorities, are solving the problem of homeless people and migrants in the streets shortly before the start of the games.
Although the French authorities say they are carrying out a social program that has nothing to do with the biggest sports holiday of the year, according to The New York Time, the connection with it is obvious.
The Olympic Games will start in Paris in less than two weeks. French President Emmanuel Macron boasted that the games would illustrate the country’s greatness. But the Olympic village was created in the northern suburbs of Paris in the Saint-Denis area, where thousands of people live on the streets, in improvised shelters or in abandoned buildings.
The American newspaper pointed out that Paris launched a social program about a year before the Olympic Games that was supposed to solve this problem. According to the official version, the authorities are trying to fight the fact that there is not enough space in Paris for 100,000 homeless people. Thus, ten improvised centers for the homeless were created all over France, where these people are to be relocated.
Thousands of homeless people and migrants are transported by buses from the Paris suburbs. Some migrants told The New York Times that officials promised them housing and social facilities elsewhere. Allegedly, these were empty promises and many people soon ended up on the streets again.
“After arriving in a new city, homeless people live in temporary accommodation for up to three weeks and are checked to see if they are eligible for asylum. Those who are eligible can get long-term accommodation while they apply for asylum. However, approximately 60 percent of people in temporary shelters do not get long-term housing,” the newspaper wrote.
Then there is the question of persons being investigated and even deportation. Some lawyers therefore advise people not to board buses at all and rather try their luck on the streets. “It’s just a vanguard for deportation,” said Emmanuel Pereira, a lawyer working near Paris. “There is no money to find places for the homeless in Marseille, but there is money to transport the homeless from Paris?” complained Audrey Garin, deputy mayor of Marseille.
French authorities say it is a voluntary program that has nothing to do with the Olympics. According to the American media, it is likely that France is trying to make Paris a nicer place before the games. The BBC website noted that Paris expects up to 15 million tourists to arrive.
Even displaced people do not doubt the connection between eviction and the Olympic Games. “They kicked us out because of the Olympics,” said Mohamed Ibrahim of Chad, who was evicted from an abandoned cement factory near the Olympic village. He then moved into an empty building south of Paris, from which police evicted residents in April. They were then taken by bus two hours southwest to the city of Orléans.
“The government denies that the bus service is related to the Olympics. However, we obtained an email, first reported by L’Équipe, in which one of the government’s housing officials said the aim was to identify people on the street in areas close to the Olympic sites and relocate them before the Olympics start,” reports The New York Times.
Already in June, the website France 24 reported that the authorities are facing accusations of social cleansing, targeting migrants and the homeless before the Olympics. At the same time, he pointed out that France will probably stop funding regional shelters for socially weaker citizens shortly after the end of the Games. During evictions, the authorities allegedly target not only migrants and the homeless, but also Roma, prostitutes and drug addicts.
The controversial eviction of people is not the only issue being addressed in Paris before the Olympics. Fears of terrorist attacks hover over the city during the sports holiday. Already in February, someone stole the organizational plans of the Olympic Games from an official on a train.
In May, French police foiled a terrorist attack plan aimed at the Olympic soccer tournament. Due to fears of a drone attack, the organizers reduced the audience capacity during the opening ceremony. It will not be held in the stadium as usual, but on the river Seine.
According to Microsoft’s analysis, the fear of attacks is also helped by Russian propaganda. At the center of Russia’s efforts to undermine confidence in Paris, France and the Olympics is a fictional documentary The Olympics Have Fallen, which exploits the real-life 2013 American film The White House Fall.
Source: sportweb.pravda.sk
