Police Clear Paris Homeless Camp Before Olympics

Police removed tents from a camp set up in Paris by homeless people and NGO workers to protest poor access to housing and denounce what they say is a 'social clean-up' of the French capital for the Olympics.

Mere hours after the tents had been pitched, the protest was forbidden and police dismantled the camp, which stood a few meters away from Olympic rings installed on Bastille square.

The stunt, gathering homeless people, unaccompanied minors and NGO workers, was aimed at shedding light on the living conditions of the homeless and migrants in Paris, while also putting pressure on the government to create more housing for the homeless.

Activists have also been warning of what they call a 'social clean-up' of Paris long ahead of the 2024 Olympics, accusing authorities of wanting to clear the camps and squats that could tarnish Paris' image abroad.

NGO ‘Le Revers de la Médaille’ (‘Other side of the coin’), estimates that 12,500 people have been expelled from tent cities and squats in the past year, a 40% rise from the same period two years ago.

Spokesman, Jean-baptiste Eyraud, Saying: "We have also had the evictions of the homeless, the hunt for the homeless, who have never been so numerous in our country since the 1950s, and so the homeless are chased away, sent further away, moved to the regions to find themselves back on the street, et cetera. That is not the answer."

Squats had been cleared near sites of Olympic competition events or along the routes of the torch relay.

The clearing-up of squats was facilitated by a new law passed in 2023, that also imposes large fines and prison sentences for illegal occupation.

Many evicted migrants are offered places in other parts of France, following a push by the national government to “unclog” the Paris region, which has the highest demand for emergency housing in the country.