The news of the migrant workers' homes of Montreuil is rich at the beginning of June. After the inauguration with great fanfare, last weekend, of the new Bara social residence in the Bas Montreuil district, a rally was held in front of the town hall, this Friday noon, on the sidelines of an extraordinary municipal council to elect delegates responsible for voting in the next senatorial elections.
Many of the demonstrators were residents of the Branly home run by Adoma, who criticize the conditions of the demolition and reconstruction operation affecting their home. "We do not refuse the project," warns Toumani Soukouna. We are asking for a dialogue on our demands, which are not accepted. »
The current home has 195 rooms but also live there those who are called "supernumeraries", often brothers, uncles, cousins of the occupants of the dwelling, who do not have a lease. According to a resident delegate, there are about 200 supernumeraries who would also live at the Branly home. As part of this operation, Adoma plans to rebuild a residence "with a capacity of 160 dwellings, ranging from T1 to T1bis (Editor's note: from 20 to 30 m²)".
"This means that 60 people will not be able to live there," says Alfo Simaga, who is also worried about the fate of supernumeraries "who will find themselves without a solution". "As they do not have a contract, Adoma does not want to recognize them but they are our sons, our children," he recalls. Some may agree to go elsewhere, to other cities, but let us open the dialogue on their situation. »
"No one has visibility on the exact number of people to be relocated and the wishes for relocation"
According to Adoma, six meetings have been held on the topic since March 2021. "To carry out our mission, an urban and social project management (Mous), launched in 2022 and financed by the city of Montreuil, Est Ensemble, the State and Adoma, supports residents in their desire to relocate within the future social residence, on the Adoma park in Montreuil or Île-de-France, or within the social park, details the lessor. La Mous' mission is to establish a social diagnosis and meet with each resident to establish a rehousing plan adapted to their needs. We are still in discussion with residents about the follow-up to their relocation project. »
But the start of the work, on June 1, has tense the residents. Halima Menhoudj, the deputy mayor delegate for migrant populations and international solidarity, explains that the diagnosis made it possible to know the wishes of 27 people but that "he is on stand-by because of the protest".
"Today, no one has visibility on the exact number of people to be relocated and on the wishes for rehousing," observes the elected representative. A meeting is to be held in town hall next week to resume dialogue.
