A hundred people gather in Amiens against the city’s anti-begging decree

Around a hundred demonstrators gathered on the evening of Wednesday May 8 in front of the town hall of Amiens against the anti-begging decree issued by the municipality, indicates France Bleu Picardie. A sit-in called by several associations, including the Amiens Citizen Maraudes and the Coordination of Intermittent and Precarious Workers of Picardy. Marked by speeches, this gathering took place exactly a week after the entry into force of the decree, which concerns around twenty streets in the city’s hypercenter.

An appeal examined Monday May 13

Half a dozen homeless people were present. Some explained to France Bleu Picardie that they have already been fined. While some say they received the basic fine of 38 euros, others say theirs was increased to 138 euros. The legal appeal against this text filed by the associations will be examined next Monday, May 13. They are calling for a demonstration at 2 p.m. that day in front of the Amiens administrative court, where this appeal will be examined.

At the end of March, the UDI mayor of Amiens, Brigitte Fouré, defended what was only then a draft decree, on France Bleu Picardie. “Sometimes, we have homeless people who can be aggressive and who can have the effect of chasing customers away from businesses,” she then explained. The associations claim that the town hall has not responded to their requests since the announcement of this decree.