Twilight News Edition 546
Edition 546, 26th September 2023
FRANCE RELOCATES HOMELESS FROM PARIS AHEAD OF THE 2024 OLYMPICS
By Fiona Jhaveri
At 6:30 a.m. during a late summer morning in Paris, beneath the sounds emanating from the Stalingrad Métro station in the northeastern part of the French capital, hundreds of migrants, primarily men, are sleeping in tight quarters under a bridge. Some are resting on scraps of cardboard and worn-out mattresses behind a fence tainted with urine, while others are awake at the edge of the street.
News is spreading that government buses are soon arriving to pick them up. Some are waiting with hope, anticipating the possibility of being provided housing at last, but most are confused and fearful, worried they might be compelled to leave Paris.
Over the past few months, the French government has been expediting the relocation of Paris’ homeless population to various parts of the country, aiming to alleviate the strain on emergency shelter services in the capital. According to government reports, each week, between 50 and 150 people are transported to one of ten locations across France.
Despite official denials of any link to the upcoming Olympics in Paris in the summer of 2024, certain non-governmental organizations and elected officials suspect that the Games are a factor influencing the recent implementation of this relocation plan.
“We heard they were coming to take us today, but I am uncertain about the destination,” shared Obsa, a 31-year-old political refugee from Ethiopia, in an interview with CNN. He opts for a pseudonym to safeguard against potential repercussions.
In 2017, Obsa embarked on a perilous journey to France, traveling from Ethiopia through Sudan and Libya, then crossing the Mediterranean to Italy. Though he now holds a full-time job in Paris, after numerous years in the city, he has not managed to secure permanent housing, primarily due to exorbitant rental prices and scarce availability of affordable social housing. Obsa had been relying on emergency housing in a hotel, but he was ejected after his wife joined him. Recounting the experience, he stated, “They just refused. They said: we don't have room for your wife.”
Obsa’s situation is not unique. Anticipating an influx of tourists for the upcoming Olympic Games, hotels in Paris have started canceling their emergency housing agreements with the government to make room. This has left many homeless migrants, like Obsa and his wife, without a place to stay.
In 2022, approximately 50,000 homeless individuals were accommodated in hotels nightly in the Ile-de-France region, where Paris is situated, according to the Federation of Solidarity Actors, a collective of local associations and charitable organizations. However, this year, at least 5,000 of these previously available hotel spots have been cancelled, as reported by CNN affiliate BFMTV. This could in part elucidate why refugees such as Obsa and his wife find themselves on the streets.
The Paris Prefecture informed CNN that the actual number of lost emergency housing spots was closer to 2,000, as the city had devised alternative solutions to compensate for the eliminated hotel rooms.
However, the reduction in hotel accommodations is just one facet of a broader issue facing France's homeless population. Nearly half of the country's homeless individuals are concentrated in the Ile-de-France region, where they have access to more charitable assistance, job prospects, and personal networks.
According to data from the Ministry of Housing, out of the slightly over 200,000 homeless individuals sheltered each night in the country, 100,000 are in the Ile-de-France. Simply put, there aren't enough emergency shelter spaces in Paris to accommodate everyone.
Compiled and Edited by Saachi Mehra