In preparation for the upcoming Olympics, the French government has relocated thousands of homeless immigrants from Paris to other cities, sparking controversy and allegations of broken promises.
President Emmanuel Macron aims to present a grand image of France during the Olympics, yet the decision to house athletes in one of Paris’s poorest suburbs has displaced many residents living in encampments, shelters, and abandoned buildings.
According to Christophe Noël du Payrat, a senior official, approximately 5,000 individuals, primarily single men, have been evicted by police and courts across the city over the past year. Many were encouraged to board buses bound for cities like Lyon or Marseille under the guise of addressing Paris’s housing shortage.
“We were expelled because of the Olympic Games,” said Mohamed Ibrahim, originally from Chad, who was evicted from near the Olympic Village and relocated to a distant town southwest of Orléans.
The government has defended these actions as part of a voluntary program to alleviate housing pressures in Paris. However, critics argue that promises of alternative housing often lead to unfamiliar streets or deportation threats.
The program, allegedly intended to screen for asylum eligibility, has inadvertently drawn in new individuals, some of whom, like Yussuf Ahmed from Sudan, were unaware of its implications due to their existing refugee status.
Despite claims by officials that the relocation isn’t directly tied to the Olympics, an internal email obtained by L’Équipe suggests otherwise, outlining efforts to identify and move individuals near Olympic venues beforehand.
In response to these moves, local officials outside Paris have expressed dismay over the lack of consultation and resources diverted from their own homeless populations.
While some immigrants find temporary shelter upon arrival in new cities, many face deportation orders or are left without long-term housing solutions, leading to renewed cycles of homelessness.