After a month, the 340 exiled minors who occupy the Gaîté Lyrique still have no accommodation solution

“What do we want?” Housing! », shout several hundred young exiles gathered on the square in front of the Gaîté Lyrique, a cultural venue in the city of Paris. This Saturday, January 11, 2025, the temperature is two degrees. The group of demonstrators dance to the rhythm of the drums to warm up. This is the umpteenth demonstration by the Belleville Park Youth collective, who have been occupying the first and second floors of the public building for a month. They demand, among other things, access to dignified accommodation. Mohammed (1), one of the movement's spokespersons, says:

“It’s a way for us to make our situation visible, to tell people about the conditions we live in, and to denounce the way the state and the government treat unaccompanied minors! »

As for the Gaîté Lyrique, it canceled its programming (concerts, conferences, exhibition, etc.) and refused to use force to remove the young people from the building. In a press release published on January 10, she reiterated:

“La Gaîté Lyrique regrets the sudden and sudden nature of this occupation, but recalls the legitimacy of the collective's demand to obtain shelter. »

Since December 10, 2024 and the start of the occupation, the situation has been at a standstill, according to the management of Gaîté Lyrique, which deplores the inaction of the Town Hall and the State. Living conditions are becoming more and more critical for the 340 people who sleep there and whose number continues to increase.

340 in an unsuitable location

On the square in front of the stone building, Fana is shivering. The 15-year-old went out to get some fresh air with his friends, but the temperature near negative temperatures made him regret it. He didn't go to demonstrate yesterday, exhausted from the nights sleeping on a sheet on the ground. He preferred to rest and enjoy the calm, while his friends walked the streets. The boy eventually goes inside and sits down on a yellow table. A table football sits in the middle of the room, surrounded by floor coverings. Nobody has the strength to play it today. “Too tired,” whisper a group of young people so as not to wake up someone else who is sleeping. Some sleep on tables, while others have managed to recover a few beanbags or sofas from the Parisian place. Further on, a group of Malians pass around an iced ginger drink in dead silence. Behind their backs, photos of the “Transgalactic” exhibition, which the Gaîté Lyrique had to close to the public.

Fana, 15, fled the instability of her country, Guinea. /
Credits: Hervé Lequeux

Fana scrolls through Instagram stories on her phone to pass the time. The Guinean gets news from his loved ones. The instability of his country, where demonstrations against the power in place have taken place, worries him : “I'm still better here…” Beside him, his friend works to write the letters of the alphabet line after line, hoping to go to school soon. Difficult to concentrate in the ambient hubbub and the heat given off by the crowd.

At the back of the room, Fati is getting angry. The young girl is tired of spending her time cleaning and putting away the boys' things. She would like it to be cleaner and can no longer stand seeing men in the women's toilets. But the space only offers four toilets for more than 340 people. A young man walks by, his wet hair falling on the ground. He has just rinsed his head in the sink. There is no shower, so the two taps are the only water points. And it's too cold to walk to the showers.

Fati scratches his eyes: an infection burns it, in addition to the flu. The epidemic spread at high speed throughout the two floors of the building. The coughing fits of dozens of young people still resonate. Fati feels exhausted: “I’m used to eating once a day…” In the morning, the collective's supporters distribute breakfast, bread and cold milk. The second meal of the day is not until 9 p.m., with a new cast. Fati fills her belly vicariously, with cooking videos on social networks, which she watches over and over:

“I would really like to be a pastry chef, it’s my passion. If we had a kitchen, I could start baking and practicing for school! »

On the street in the middle of winter

Ibrahim says he spent two months under a bridge with around twenty other young peoplebefore arriving here, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. Every morning, the police came to wake them up and order them to put away their tents. After folding it into a ball, Ibrahim took refuge in the library next door, to enjoy a little warmth, he says. After a walk – when the weather permitted – he returned under the same bridge to set up his tent. Without the occupation of Gaîté Lyrique, he would have spent the rest of the winter outside:

“We have no other place to go. »

Ibrahim, 15, arrived in France in August 2023. /
Credits: Hervé Lequeux

Arriving in France in August 2023, it has been 9 months since he has heard from his parents. Ibrahim, who claims to be 15 years old, dreams of schoolto learn and work in IT, or in music. Behind him, his friends carry him away. “He raps, he’s a rapper! » Ibrahim smiles, shyly, and buries his head in his black hood.

No support

Fana also talks about her nights outside and her wanderings. He arrived on December 31 at La Gaîté. Between the start of the occupation on December 10 and today, 140 additional young people have taken refuge there. Fana's family is unaware of her living conditions. He left Guinea Conakry with his big brother, behind his parents' backs:

“They wanted to marry me by force, but I was too young. »

He passed through Mali, the Maghreb, before a terrible boat journey: three days at sea with more than 100 other people on a zodiac to arrive in Spain. “I was very scared. » All this time, he carefully kept his birth certificate stuck to him, in his jacket. But the document was not enough to convince the department responsible for evaluating his minority : the institution does not believe that he is 15 years old. In France, any foreign child recognized as a minor and unaccompanied on the territory (MNA) must be supported by Child Welfare. But the minority evaluation criteria, which are the responsibility of the departments, are regularly denounced – like bone tests – by associations defending the rights of foreigners.

Fana appealed. His hearing is scheduled for April. “At least, in the meantime, I’m not sleeping outside,” he whispers in disappointment, trying to tuck his frozen hands into his too-small jacket. Because in the meantime, no help is provided to him. In January 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child sanctioned France for its failure to ensure the protection of a MNA during the appeal period.

At the Belleville Park Youth gathering on January 11, in front of the Gaîté Lyrique. /
Credits: Hervé Lequeux

Many young people are in the same administrative situation as Fana. Several times a week, all the occupants meet in a general assembly to discuss future actions.. Mohamed is one of the collective's delegates. His black cap on his head he says:

“We are asking for more than just a gymnasium. We are asking the State to take its responsibilities and build reception centers. We are here, we have the right, we are not going to give up. »

Since the start of the occupation on December 10, 2024, the Youth of Belleville Park have demonstrated every Saturday in front of the Gaîté Lyrique. /
Credits: Hervé Lequeux

Paris City Hall, via its deputy in charge of solidarity, explains to StreetPress that the City continues to actively seek an accommodation solution. The municipality, however, backs down, explaining that rehousing is a state responsibility. Contacted, the Paris prefecture has not responded to StreetPress to date.

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(1) The first name has been changed.