“I prefer to leave even if it’s only for a month”, a new evacuation of migrants in the Stalingrad district

Several hundred migrants were evacuated from their makeshift camps set up on the boulevard which connects La Chapelle, Stalingrad, Jaurès and Colonel Fabien in eastern Paris. “Shelters” organized by the Ile-de-France regional prefecture and Paris town hall.

Very early this Wednesday morning, buses were parked at the foot of the Stalingrad metro station in the 19th arrondissement. Around 200 migrants living on the boulevard which connects La Chapelle, Stalingrad, Jaurès and Colonel Fabien in the 18th and 19th arrondissements gradually boarded the vehicles which were to take them to temporary accommodation.

Since 6:30 a.m., several associations were on site to help and guide the migrants. Of the “sheltered” welcomed by the associations. “There had been no shelter operations for several months”deplores Nathan Lequeu of the Utopia 56 association.

A young Afghan, to whom the services of the Île-de-France prefecture offer accommodation in the provinces, waits to board the bus: “I prefer to leave even if it’s only for a month”he said. “I don't have a place to live, I sleep on the street.”explains the young man.

People will be directed to different transit sites in the region: Rennes, Rouen and Marseille in order to process their asylum requests. People who can justify “of an employment contract in Paris or Île-de-France, will be able to benefit from closer accommodation, particularly in the towns of Ris-Orangis and Sarcelles“, specifies Nathan Lequeu.

For several months these people, the majority men, have been living on the streets and the health situation is worrying. “The health situation of migrants is poor, these are living conditions which are those of the street and which are very harsh, they have a definitive impact on people’s health”warns Milou Borsotti of Médecins du monde.

Tags Paris France Rennes Rouen Marseille Sarcelles