The first refugees from Afghanistan were welcomed at the Novotel hotel in Charenton-le-Pont on Tuesday evening.
Shortly before 9 p.m. a first bus arrived, with around fifty people on board, mainly families, who were taken care of by Red Cross staff before reaching their rooms.
"I was warned of their arrival at the beginning of the afternoon," explains Hervé Gicquel, the mayor (LR) of the town, present when the first refugees arrive.
About fifty rooms were requisitioned.
They should stay ten days during quarantine.
According to our information, these Afghan families arrived from Kabul in the early afternoon at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport (Seine-Saint-Denis) and spent the rest of the day at the airport for many checks.
"I'm happy, it's a real relief"
A little lost, some in traditional Afghan clothes, others dressed in Western style, the refugees got off the bus to reach the hotel, located next to the La Coupole Liberté gallery, in the city center.
"I'm very happy, it's a real relief," Shams stammers in good French, while looking for his wife and children.
Fatigue and anguish can be read on his face.
Around him, in the silence, men and women carry children, others pull a simple suitcase, hold back plastic bags as best they can.
Around them, national and municipal police officers keep watch.
The premises should be kept during the entire quarantine period.
"They will have the right to go out for two hours a day," slips one of the people in front of the hotel entrance.
Other buses expected in Seine-Saint-Denis
Half a dozen volunteers from the French Red Cross guide them towards the entrance hall, before picking them up out of sight.
A stone's throw away, a volunteer is worried about whether the association has been able to collect enough diapers for the babies.
In total, nearly 150 people will join the hotel, two more buses are expected, late at night for the last.
According to our information, other refugee buses were expected in Seine-Saint-Denis in the evening.
“This place is not a reception center for refugees. Where will they be hosted after the quarantine period? "Asks the mayor already, hoping that" the State will then take care of finding a more adequate place of accommodation with social support. On site, the management of the Novotel hotel declined to comment.