More than 70 young migrants, considered by several associations as foreign minors, were evacuated Tuesday, August 4 in the morning of a camp installed for a month in the center of Paris, noted an AFP journalist.
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The evacuation, which took place peacefully, ended around 8:30 a.m. Masks on their faces, these 72 young migrant men who slept in tents set up in a square near the Place de la République were accompanied in buses by agents from the prefecture of Ile-de-France and the town hall of Paris, under the gaze of a few policemen in the background.
They were taken to a gymnasium in the 11th arrondissement, according to the prefecture. In addition, it indicates that seven young girls were also sheltered in social hotels. Young men have been assessed as adults by several departments in Ile-de-France and are refused by social assistance for children (ASE). But they dispute this assessment and find themselves in a " dead end " the time of their appeal, according to associations which help them including Utopia 56, Comede and Médecins sans frontières (MSF).
A site was "found"
These NGOs campaign for them to be considered minors and cared for as children at risk during the legal process, which can last between six and eighteen months. In particular, they ask Paris to "lead by example " by creating a specific device for these young people. " An agreement in principle has been reached with the town hall of Paris so that there is a device for these minors in appeal, " Corinne Torre, head of MSF, told AFP. “ It is for this reason that we have accepted that there be emergency accommodation in a gymnasium while waiting. "
Thursday, Solidarity Assistant Dominique Versini had explained that a site had recently " been found " and that the State was discussing with an association likely to manage it. This center, which would be a first in France, must according to her " be co-financed by the State ", because these young people " come under its care ".
A speech contradicted Tuesday by the secretary general of the prefecture of Ile-de-France, Magali Charbonneau. " The State is not in favor of the creation of a third party device, because that is not justified ", she said, stressing that " all these young people have been assessed as adults ".
After their shelter, " they will be directed towards structures for adults ", pending a judicial decision, she said. MSF indicates that more than half of the young people supported by its services are finally recognized as minors by the courts.