“The city and the department have real estate construction projects in this sector.
This is no reason to treat the inhabitants as less than nothing.
The activists of the Right to Housing Association (DAL) do not hide their anger.
In a press release, they denounce the request for the evacuation of a dozen Roma families who have set up their makeshift shelters on a wasteland belonging to the municipality of Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), at 35-37, rue Pierre .
The municipality alerted the prefecture in early September highlighting the danger associated with the fire that occurred on August 18 in a warehouse adjacent to the camp. The disaster took place in a ghostly industrial zone, undergoing urban renewal with the construction of the Docks district, on the edge of Clichy-la-Garenne (Hauts-de-Seine). The fire which affected a 1,000 m2 warehouse and weakened its structure required the intervention of 90 firefighters. Four people were injured: two police officers came to help two victims calling for help in the premises flooded with flames.
"The evacuation, if there is danger, must be accompanied by the provision of another place," says the DAL.
We refuse this expulsion.
"The activists demand that" another ground be found, while waiting for a permanent rehousing solution ".
They also wish to be informed of the follow-up to the implementation of social support which was discussed in the city council in mid-December 2020. “Our city has the means to face this emergency situation perfectly by treating families. correctly and with dignity, ”concludes the DAL.
Up to 80 people registered on site
The very precarious situation of the inhabitants of rue Pierre brought to light by the fire of August 18 is indeed not new.
According to a survey dating from 2020 and reported by the municipality, the dozen families represented about 80 people living there.
Among the minors, nine children were educated last year in Saint-Ouen, according to data from the city.
But the town hall indicates on Tuesday that it is awaiting new information from the two associations, more specifically supporting the residents of the slum.
At the request of the volunteers, garbage containers had already been placed at the entrance to the field.
Access to water was also added, families being deprived after the fire.
The wasteland where the barracks were set up has belonged to Saint-Ouen since 1989, the burnt warehouse being the property of a public land operator, according to the town. A last occupant, living in the background with animals, was also spotted by the city services.