The newspaper reportedThe TimesIn London, French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is trying to rid Paris of some 3,600 homeless people, most of them migrants, as part of preparations for the “Capital of Light” to host next summer’s Olympic Games.
The report pointed out that the French government has sparked anger and criticism with its plan, which seeks to offer these people a better life by relocating them to other parts of the country.
In this regard, the British newspaper believes that Paris is experiencing many difficulties, as emergency shelters are overflowing, while asylum seekers spend harsh nights in camps set up on the ring road.
And close to the famous Roland Garros courts, where the French Open tennis tournament is held, the school has become home to about 500 immigrants, most of them from the African continent.
The newspaper quoted critics as believing that the French president’s sole aim behind the new measures was to hide the immigration crisis from foreign visitors attending the Rugby World Cup and Olympics starting in September. Place at the end of July next year.
François Pregent, 48, an insurance worker who lives in Bruges, said he did not mind the influx of migrants to his pretty town of 20,000 on the outskirts of Rennes in Brittany.
He added, “They need care and attention, but it’s a shame they moved because Paris was beautiful during the Olympics.”
Bruges is one of 10 French cities and towns selected as sites to deploy centers for migrants and the homeless under a French government plan.
According to the plan, 50 people at a time would be transported from Paris to mobile homes placed in remote areas on the edge of the city, between the Nantes-Rhin railway line and the barracks of the French Army’s 2nd Supply Regiment. .
Immigrants spend three weeks there before being sent to permanent residence, while those who are not legal residents are held pending deportation from the country.
About 50 asylum seekers from Togo, Senegal, Albania, Georgia and other countries have already been relocated to Bruce, where some have volunteered to stay with locals, some have offered to host them, others have stayed in council-provided flats for rehabilitation.
Jean-Francois Durand, 64, a retired teacher and member of an association that helps asylum seekers, said the local community was very accepting of others: “But it takes time, and there is a balance here that doesn’t disturb.”
Durant asserted that the government’s plan would upset the balance that needs to be maintained.
According to critics of the government plan, the closure of the sorting center in Bruce, six months after the Olympics, raises many doubts about the true intentions behind the plan.
In this regard, the mayor of Bruze expressed his concern, pointing out that the far-right National Rally party has already distributed leaflets in every mailbox in the city, saying that the French government wants to transfer the “migration chaos” from Paris to Brittany. “Involuntary immigrants share our language or culture, and they come here for welfare.”
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