There were 180 people in the camp, mostly Afghan refugees, the vast majority of them single men. The camp, where homeless migrants had been staying since the beginning of the year, was shut down by the authorities to protect the health situation and the population. The refugees were moved to temporary accommodation.

Another migrant camp, where nearly 200 migrants had been dwelling since the beginning of the year, has been disbanded by the French police, this time in Pantin, a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, close to the capital. Of the 180 people, only 18 had families, and the other 162 were all single men. As for the nationality of the migrants, they are predominantly Afghan refugees, all of them are now being housed in temporary accommodation and are receiving social, healthcare, and administrative assistance, the prefecture of Ile-de-France wrote in a statement.

#Communiqué I Les services de la @Prefet93 ont procédé á une opération de mise á l’abri de 180 migrants á Pantin avec l’appui des services de la @Prefet75_IDF, et des services de la @PoliceNationale.

Pour en savoir ➕: https://t.co/UqyNqyfUqq pic.twitter.com/eAgNDIaPfF

— Préfecture de la région d’Île-de-France ???? (@Prefet75_IDF) January 26, 2022

The text also explains that, due to the health crisis and the risks posed by the proximity of the migrants to local residents , the Seine-Saint-Denis prefecture decided to clear out the camp and to place its residents in temporary accommodation. The communication underlines that the operation is part of a comprehensive strategy to restore the public space to its original condition and to reclaim the area.

According to Le Figaro, the prefect of the Paris region has carried out an increasing number of similar operations over the last year, with a total of 7,300 people being transferred to refugee reception centres on 28 occasions in 2021, in order to prevent the erection of another large migrant camp in or around Paris.