French police evacuate migrants from northern Paris site

Refugees were lining at dawn to embark into buses as their campsite in northern Paris was being evacuated on Thursday, November 28th
Refugees were lining at dawn to embark into buses as their campsite in northern Paris was being evacuated on Thursday, November 28th Copyright AFP
By Julie Gaubert with Reuters
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On Thursday morning, between 200 and 300 people were moved by French police from an illegal site in northern Paris.

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On Thursday morning, French police started moving migrants from an illegal campsite in northern Paris' Porte d'Aubervilliers. 

This operation was launched shortly before 7 a.m. and managed to move 500 out of the 2,000 people sleeping there in tents and improvised shelters.

Local police said in a statement that this operation did not consist of "dismantling" the illegal camp, rather they are placing vulnerable people such as families, isolated women and children into a safer place to "ensure [their] security."

Police forces were present to oversee the operation, as well as French non-profit organisation for asylum seekers, France Terre d'Asile. Migrants got into buses that would drive them to sports halls and shelters.

France 3 journalist Morgan Prevost tweeted: "500 people have been sheltered this morning. An under-sized operation for this camp which counts more than 2,000 people according to the associations."

French journalist Morgan Prevost's tweet

An attempt to evacuate this specific campsite had to be cancelled last week, "due to a large crowd mobilisation" French police said.

Paris is seen as one of the major destinations for refugees in France since Calais' migrant camp closure in 2016. Local authorities had to dismantle several illegal campsites after that, but others soon appeared in different areas.

Previously, migrants had been evacuated from two neighbouring campsites in Paris' Porte de la Chapelle on Thursday, November 7th. According to Paris police headquarters, it concerned 1,611 migrants and 600 policemen had been mobilised, alongside 60 members from volunteer associations.

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