Paris Police Forces Evict Nearly 2,000 Asylum Seekers From Camp

By teleSUR

19 August 17

More than a thousand migrants and refugees were evacuated on early August 18 from a makeshift camp that had been set up for several weeks in La Chapelle.

rench police violently evicted around 2,000 asylum seekers from a makeshift camp in an area north of Paris on Friday, the 35th evacuation operation to have been carried out in two years in the capital.

A similar roundup of the mostly Afghan and African migrants around the Porte de la Chapelle area in July saw 2,800 moved from the streets into temporary accommodation.

In July, the new government under former banker executive President Emmanuel Macron has presented a plan to address the influx of asylum seekers in the country, following the same counter-productive policies implemented over the 15 past years.

Prime Minister Edouard called for a tougher approach on "economic migrants," yet did not announce any emergency measures about the overcrowded facilities welcoming refugees in the country.

Shortly after daybreak, around 30 buses were brought in to move out the migrants, many of whom were ready waiting with small backpacks.

"It's hard, really hard, especially when it rains and at night when it's cold," said Rachid, a migrant in his twenties from Sudan who said he had been sleeping rough for 21 days.

France is one of the only countries in the European Union where hundreds of asylum seekers are forced to sleep in the streets without any assistance. After authorities bulldozed the Calais makeshift camp, more than 500 refugees are still hiding in the surroundings from police harassment, as the government refused to open more migrant centers fearing that it would attract more asylum seekers.

France's human rights watchdog denounced "extremely serious violations of human rights" after a visit in Calais in June this year.