protesters occupy Olympics construction site to support undocumented workers

These demonstrators occupied the construction site of the future Arena Porte de la Chapelle, located north of the capital, on Friday.

“No papers, no Olympics”. The construction site of the future Arena at Porte de la Chapelle, one of the sites of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, was briefly occupied on Friday, December 1, by around fifty demonstrators, franceinfo noted on site. Their objective: to protest against the situation of undocumented workers, at the call in particular of the National Confederation of Workers-Solidarity Workers (CNT-SO). Contacted by AFP, Bouygues, the construction group responsible for the project, did not wish to comment.

Bouygues “denied” that undocumented workers who have submitted an application for a residence permit to the prefecture “come back to work on his ‘exemplary project'”accused the CNT in a press release. “Twelve to fifteen workers working on this site are affected”a member of the union, Etienne Deschamps, told AFP.

A first mobilization on October 17

The demonstrators left the site early Friday afternoon to be received at the socialist town hall of the 18th arrondissement. And this, in order to discuss the situation of these workers with elected officials and representatives of Bouygues, according to this trade unionist, who said “Rather satisfied” discussions.

“We fully support their fight and we will help resolve the situation”, declared to AFP Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy (PS) to the mayor of Paris, who chaired this meeting. A first operation took place on October 17 on the same site, located in the north of the capital.