Since Tuesday, December 10, hundreds of young people classified as unaccompanied minors have occupied the Gaîté Lyrique where they have taken refuge to escape the street. The struggle of these young people is part of a dynamic initiated in the summer of 2023 by young people who lived and slept in Belleville park with whom residents and activist collectives in the neighborhood showed solidarity.
This fight is also ours, that of trade union organizations and others, since it is a question of fighting alongside those primarily concerned against all forms of discrimination and for the effectiveness of fundamental rights for all: right to education, right to housing, right to health, right to freedom of movement.
This is why, in order to support and protect the occupants of the Gaîté Lyrique and amplify the struggles they are carrying out, we are calling for a demonstration on Wednesday January 29, 2025 at 5 p.m. from the Gaîté Lyrique.
The fact that this fight is being waged in a context where racism is the element that determines many of the political positions and decisions of those who govern or claim to govern adds an additional political dimension which, as progressives, anti-fascists and anti-racists, requires us to participate.
French institutions flout the children’s rights convention every day with total impunity: in France thousands of minors, mostly racialized, poor and from European colonies, particularly French ones, live in terrible conditions. This fact alone fully justifies our commitment to unaccompanied minors. Indeed, allowing the living conditions of those younger than us to give them the right to moments of happiness and a better future is a concern for every person committed to social progress.
But beyond that, when human beings are placed in conditions that make them extremely vulnerable and succeed in extracting rights, we must remember this phrase from Michel Foucault “it is to the extent that I defend myself that my rights exist and that the law respects me.” Indeed, it is this dynamic of defense that allowed the Belleville Youth Collective to secure more than 800 accommodation places and more than 200 school enrollments in one year. Furthermore, the political self-organization of young people allowed them to free themselves from a situation of total social invisibility and to become activists proud of themselves. It is this defense dynamic carried loud and clear by isolated minors and their allies from which we must draw inspiration in the social struggles whose epicenter today is at Gaîté Lyrique which must be protected and amplify.
-To be particularly protected in the days to come from the expulsion procedure cowardly initiated by Paris City Hall in order to get rid of young people and turn the page. A Town Hall which calls itself left-wing and yet has no real desire to prevent the extreme right-wing of French politics and society. Why is she not taking concrete measures that can counteract the nauseating Darmanin-Retaileau immigration policy? Why doesn’t it create real reception centers for young migrants? Who does she represent? What side of the political spectrum is she on?
For our part, we know very well which side we are on. This is why in order to articulate the demands of the Parc de Belleville Youth Collective with our union struggles and to form a united front, we are calling for an AGM at the Labor Exchange on Wednesday January 22, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. (Turbigo annex, Léon room Jouhaux).
This is why in order to support and protect the occupants of the Gaîté Lyrique and amplify the struggles they are carrying out, we are calling for a demonstration on Wednesday January 29, 2025 at 5 p.m. from the Gaîté Lyrique.
Unions signing the call:
CGT Social Action Center of the City of Paris, CGT CNAM, CGT Culture, CGT Tenon hospital, CGT éduc’action Paris, CNT STE 75, MNL, Solidaires 93, Solidaires Public Finances 75, Solidaires RATP, SUD CNAM, SUD Conseil departmental 93, SUD Culture, SUD education 75, SUD education 92, SUD education 93, SUD education 95, SUD-ideas ESR SU, SUD health social federation, SUD health social 93, SUNDEP-Solidaires Paris, USL
Associations and collectives signing the call:
Belleville Park Youth Collective, Paris Family Planning, CSP 75, CSP Montreuil, CSP 17 ST-Just, CSP 93, Black Vests, CTSPV IDF, ICEM Paris, MRAP Fédération de Paris, FCPE Paris, RESF Paris, RUSF UPC, RUSF UPEC, RUSF Paris 8
