PARIS (AFP) – A collective of French charities accused organisers of the Paris Olympics yesterday of ‘social cleansing’ the capital by targeting migrants, squatters and the homeless.
A new report from the Other Side of the Medal group, which brings together 80 different charities, said Paris was following a playbook used by other Olympic host cities.
“We hoped that this edition would be different from previous ones and we made suggestions over a long period in this regard,” the report said.
“Today… we can state that Paris 2024 will be no different from previous editions and will truly accelerate the exclusion of the most vulnerable.”
The report looked in particular at actions by the French police to clear squats, as well as migrant camps and the homeless from Paris streets.
It said there had been 26 operations to clear migrant camps so far in 2024, “almost the same as for the whole of the year 2022 (when there were 30).”
Since April last year, a total of 10 squats used by migrants, including a former factory close to the Olympic village, had been cleared, affecting 1,967 people.
