They don't let go of the pressure. The residents of the Branly home in Montreuil, supported by several associations, demonstrated this Friday afternoon in front of the city hall to demand the revision of the project to rebuild their home decided by their manager Adoma. The Branly home, opened in 1980, officially houses 193 Malian, Senegalese or Mauritanian migrant workers, but the restructuring plan provides for the relocation of 70 residents. It also sets aside all the "supernumeraries", those relatives that the holders of a lease often host in their room to help them.
The work was supposed to begin this summer, but it was blocked by residents who had already gathered at City Hall during a city council meeting in June and then held an open house in their homes on July 29 to publicize their mobilization to the general public. "No one disputes the work, there is a need for it. But we want everyone to be able to stay," said Soukouna, 49, who has lived in Branly for 20 years. "For now, no one knows who will have to move, or where," worries Guissouma, 61, who arrived in 1980 in the premises.
"We saw what happened at the Bara home, not everyone is rehoused"
The town hall has promised to hold a meeting in September with the tenants, Adoma and the prefecture. By making this new event, the inhabitants wished to recall their demands: the maintenance of a maximum of residents on site, the relocation of supernumeraries, the possibility that two people can sign a lease for T1 bis and prime (housing above 21 m2) or the possibility for the oldest to assign their lease to young members of their family. "We want the town hall to commit to supporting us and bringing these demands to Adoma in September," plead several residents.
"We saw what happened at the Bara home, not everyone is rehoused. Nearly 200 people who lived there now survive in miserable conditions in Montreuil, lashed out at the opening of the demonstration Michael Hoare of the Collective for the Future of Homes (COPAF). And then you have to see what happens in the new buildings: we remove the kitchens, the meeting rooms. We create prison homes," The residents of Branly are worried about seeing their kitchen disappear. "A lot of people come to eat with us, because it's cheap," note several residents.