migrants dislodged to make way for the homeless in Ile-de-France

Many migrant families have been dislodged from a social hotel in Montgermont, near Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), to make way for homeless people from Ile-de-France who will be cared for in a “temporary reception area”denounce Friday, May 26 associations.

These associations specializing in emergency accommodation have deplored “rush and inhumanity” with which this rehousing had to be carried out under pressure from the public authorities, to the detriment of these migrants. Some have been relocated to other Breton departments even though they are sometimes ill, have children in school or have a job in the Rennes region, according to them.

“We are disgusted”

The police had been dispatched to evacuate the Montgermont hotel to the families still present on May 16, the deadline set by the prefecture, according to the associations. “We had to send these people out in a fortnight to make way for these other people from Paris. We are disgusted with the way it happened”told AFP a volunteer who asked to remain anonymous.

Some migrants, for example, were rehoused overnight in Finistère, where they had only one night reserved. “Afterwards, they were sent back to the street. So these people came back to Rennes, and we have no right to take them back”says this volunteer. “A seriously ill elderly lady and her adult daughter are currently sleeping in a tent in Rennes while they were still at the hotel last week”she is indignant.

As the Olympics approach, the government wants to encourage thousands of homeless people, mainly migrants, to leave the Paris region on a voluntary basis for various regions, arguing the drop in the number of hotels ready to accommodate them . Asked by AFP, the prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine had not reacted late Friday afternoon.