French lives made miserable by migrants, some spreading disease – video
Authorities clear away the illegal migrant camp in the capital to no avail, as the immigrants simply put up their tents again the next day. On the outskirts of another big city, the Green Party complains that the mayor is unwilling to integrate immigrants.
In France, migrants are posing an increasingly growing problem both from a societal and health aspect. Bastille square, in the heart of Paris near the Opera, has gradually morphed into an outright migrant camp. The dozens of tents are well visible in video footage recorded in June.
Petit á petit, la place de la Bastille se transforme en camp de migrants…Et pendant ce temps, @EPierreMarie va d’inaugurations en inaugurations… pic.twitter.com/Kt2gvdwrjT
— Batisti angele (@AngeleBatisti) July 1, 2022
The tents are identical, which lends support to the conclusion that they are donations from an association or NGO helping migrants. This seems to be confirmed by a statement from the prefect, who said that the NGO Utopia 56 has been staging protests on Bastille square since the spring of 2022 with the aim of obtaining refugee status and accommodation for unaccompanied migrant minors.
Mise á l’abri pour motifs sanitaires des participants á la manifestation revendicative sous forme de campement, place de la Bastille.
Consultez le communiqué de presse commun avec @Prefet75_IDF ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/65B4FZ5aTV
— Préfecture de Police (@prefpolice) September 23, 2022
The situation has not improved on the square since summer. On the contrary, the prefect’s announcement also reveals that a scabies epidemic has recently broken out among the migrants, so the camp was evacuated by the authorities. However, the measure proved to be less than effective as the tents reappeared the next day, just a few metres from their previous location, this time on Boulevard Bourdon.
Moins de 24h après avoir été expulsés de la Place de la Bastille en raison d’une épidémie de gale, des migrants posent leurs tentes á quelques mètres de lá, boulevard bourdon #paris pic.twitter.com/Sfr4inBxFm
— Pierre Sautarel (@FrDesouche) September 26, 2022
Migrants are a growing problem not only in the French capital. The local newspaper Lyon Mag reported that Green Party politicians are demanding that the mayor of the Lyon suburb of Francheville resign for his refusal to comply with the state’s request to convert the Charial hospital building into a migrant shelter.
At a briefing for prefects back in mid-September, President Emmanuel Macron presented the government’s plan to reform migration policy in an attempt to improve the territorial distribution of migrants by moving them to depopulated rural areas, .
🔴 Immigration: Emmanuel Macron souhaite un „texte de loi” pour début 2023 face á une „politique inefficace et inhumaine” pic.twitter.com/Aaqm2QuI0C
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) September 15, 2022
However, the opposition says this is not a good idea at all, as migrants should not be integrated but sent home. In a recent interview, National Rally Chairman Jordan Bardella said he did not want the whole country to turn into a notorious no-go zone like the one in Seine-Saint-Denis, a department near Paris.
Je ne souhaite pas que toute la France ressemble á la Seine-Saint-Denis. Il ne faut pas répartir les migrants dans nos campagnes comme le souhaite Emmanuel Macron, il faut les faire repartir. pic.twitter.com/c1cW7oHj8t
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) September 21, 2022