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Violence and gas bombs, French police evacuated hundreds of immigrants last Monday night from the Place de la Republique in central Paris, less than an hour after they set up camp with the help of local associations. Social media was full of “shocking” videos documenting police violence against migrants and even journalists.
The Place de la République in the heart of the French capital became a scene of harsh scenes of violence yesterday evening, during which the police beat and fired tear gas canisters, to disperse hundreds of immigrants who they set up a camp with the help of activists from local associations.
The associations did not really expect to establish a migrant camp in the center of Paris, but wanted from this step to draw attention and pressure the state to secure a refuge for the migrants. Especially after the police last week dismantled the Saint-Denis suburban camp, which was home to some 2,000 immigrants, and transferred some of them to shelters. However, between 500 and a thousand people were left homeless in the streets, and were subjected to police harassment every night according to their testimonies, which motivated associations and migrants to establish this camp.
“We are here to show that we have nowhere to go. We do not want to live like animals, we have come to seek asylum,” Mortada, a 20-year-old Afghan, told AFP.
Around seven in the morning on Monday, migrants and associations began to arrive at the Plaza de la República and set up tents. However, after less than an hour, the security forces intervened to evacuate the place with excessive “unjustified” violence, according to human rights organizations.
“We thought the province had hit rock bottom during the failed San Doni evacuation,” said Mile de Marcools, an official with the Utopia 56 association who was present at the camp yesterday to help immigrants who come mainly from Afghanistan. “We thought the province had hit rock bottom during the failed San Doni evacuation, but that was clearly not all.” “There is a milestone that has been overlooked in acts of violence, and the presence of journalists and lawyers yesterday did not stop the police,” he added during his interview with InfoMmigration.
According to Mail, two migrants were injured and taken to hospital.
Shocking images’
Images and videos documenting what happened filled social networking sites, they were “shocking” even for Interior Minister Gerald Darmanan, who announced in a tweet that he had requested a “detailed report” from the chief of police on Monday’s events. at night. He promised to take all necessary measures.
This occurs while the publication of photographs of police officers remains a subject of controversy in France, after the French government approved an amended security law that imposes restrictions on the publication of photos and recordings that take the faces of police officers while performing their duties. In public places. However, it was the images that circulated yesterday that forced the Interior Minister to act quickly. The violence by the police was not only against immigrants, but also against journalists who were present to cover the event.
“A night of violence is rare in a situation like this. In this inhuman moment … it is difficult to find the words in the face of the event that I covered tonight. My heart really hurts to see all this … so much misery, sadness and Rage”. This is how the French journalist Remi Boisen described what he experienced yesterday while documenting the incident by publishing videos and photos of police who pushed migrants, destroyed their tents and fired tear gas into the streets, without himself escaping physical violence .
ونشر Prut site In a tweet, “Journalist Remy was repeatedly exposed to violence by a police officer while covering the violent evacuation of immigrants by the police. We will seek clarification from the Police Directorate and the Ministry of the Interior.”
“The state does not want immigrants in Paris”
After dispersing the migrants and expelling them from central Paris, “the police pursued them and did not stop until the migrants left the capital,” according to Mile de Marcolls, “the message is clear: the state does not want immigrants in Paris! These people spent the night in the northern suburbs between Aubervilliers and Saint-Denis. Something in the possession of the immigrants, after the police confiscated some 500 tents and a thousand blankets during the dismantling process. “
The city’s deputy mayor in charge of housing, emergency housing and refugee protection, Ian Bossar, denounced the way in which “the forces of public order respond to a social situation.”
In response, the police tweeted: “Today a camp was illegally set up on the Place de la Republique in Paris, and the police immediately proceeded to evacuate this illegal occupation to a public place.” The police stated in a statement that “certain associations” had organized the establishment of the temporary camp, calling this matter “unacceptable”.
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