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–>–With more than 3,000 people on site, the operation to evacuate the Saint-Denis migrant camp (Seine-Saint-Denis) took place on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 in confusion. (© DG / News Seine-Saint-Denis)
3,000. This is the number of people taken care of following the evacuation, Tuesday November 17, 2020, from camp migrants installed near the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis).
A long and confusing operation
An evacuation, requested since August by the municipality, while the camp then counted 300 migrants. However, since its installation, in mid-August, on the banks of the canal and under the A1 motorway bridge, the camp has continued to grow until it has become one of the largest migrant camps in Île-de-France. “The Municipality regrets that the operation was not organized this summer, making today’s evacuation much more complex. “
On Tuesday, the operation, which began around 4 am with the installation of the police device, lasted more than 11 hours. “It is the longest evacuation I have known,” whispered a volunteer in the camp, after more than 10 hours of waiting and when there were still hundreds of people on the spot.
The remaining people scattered
At the end of the operation, all the people present in the camp could not be taken care of, for lack of space. The municipality points the finger collective responsibility aid to migrants. “As the operation approaches, certain groups seem to have favored the arrival of several hundred additional people,” she said in a statement.
To dislodge the remaining people, the police quickly used tear gas, pushing the fallen from the shelter towards Wilson Avenue. The security forces then again used tear gas to disperse the groups into the adjacent streets. Groups then left in the direction of the Porte de La Chapelle and Porte d’Aubervilliers in Paris.
Hundreds of people on the streets
Difficult to assess the number of people remaining on the floor. A policeman spoke of a procession of “a thousand people”. According to the collective Solidarité migrants Wilson, which helps migrants, 900 meals were served Tuesday evening, in the streets at the gates of Paris. “We regret that many single men are tonight without an emergency accommodation solution, even if 3,000 people have benefited from shelter,” says the municipality.
In its press release, the municipality recalls that the evacuation “does not resolve the issue of the reception of people in exile and refugees in France. “Undoubtedly, the State must embody national solidarity and organize it in conjunction with local authorities,” she adds.
It calls on the public authorities to “continue to collaborate with national associations in order to build humanitarian halt systems distributed throughout the territory in order to guarantee access to fundamental rights for migrants. “The city of Saint-Denis will play its full part in this,” she explains.
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