Paris Police Clear Migrant Camp Near City Hall Ahead of Olympics

On April 30, French police evicted a makeshift tent-camp of homeless African migrants next to Paris City Hall. The camp, which housed around 100 teenage boys and young men from West Africa, was cleared by seven van loads of officers who arrived at dawn. According to reports, the eviction was part of a government plan to transfer the homeless away from Paris, where there are no available emergency housing beds, to provincial towns. Aid groups have criticized the move, labeling it as "social cleansing". Some migrants expressed fear of being left isolated and abandoned in Angers, a city they were reportedly being taken to. The police claimed that the eviction was necessary for security reasons, citing concerns about the camp's proximity to schools. It is worth noting that the exact details of the situation may vary depending on the source. For example, one article mentions that most of the migrants are from West Africa, while another does not specify their nationalities. Additionally, some reports suggest that the government aims to transfer the homeless to provincial towns due to a lack of available emergency housing in Paris, while others do not provide this information.