More than 180 homeless young migrants have taken over a disused nursery school building in the west of Paris to protest against the inhumane treatment of unaccompanied minors arriving in France from Africa.
Backed by three French charities, the young people who had been sleeping rough across Paris for months arrived overnight at the old school building, which has no running water or electricity, and slept under blankets.
They all identified as under 18 but had not been accepted as minors during evaluations by French local authorities. All have appealed that decision through lawyers but the process can take as long as a year, during which time they had not been given housing.
Being officially accepted as a minor means having access to shelter and support services.
Most of the young people at the school had reached France after perilous journeys, including boat crossings across the Mediterranean either from Morocco to Spain or Libya and Tunisia to Italy. The majority were French-speaking from west African countries including Guinea and Ivory Coast.
Most had been sleeping rough under bridges in Paris, constantly moved on by police. A senate report in 2021 found that 55% of young migrants who present themselves to French authorities as unaccompanied minors are evaluated and not considered under 18.
Nikolaï Posner of the organisation Utopia 56, which helps young migrants, said young people awaiting an appeal were not being housed. “It is very hard for them to survive on the streets, where they quickly face issues of crime, trafficking and constant police pressure as they are regularly moved on, their tents destroyed.”
He said: “When a group of five to 10 young people gather to sleep rough in an area of Paris, police dismantle their tents – this is increasing as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games approach. While the young people appeal their cases, they are simply left homeless.
“The state’s approach is to be dissuasive. In the UK, they try to dissuade people with the threat of sending them to Rwanda. Here they try to dissuade people by leaving them on the street and hoping the message gets through: if you come here, you won’t be welcomed.”
Three charities said they had decided to occupy the disused school to put pressure on local and state authorities to provide immediate emergency accommodation. They intended to leave as soon as housing is provided. They said that each day they found about 10 new cases of migrants aged under 18 living on the street in Paris.
Mamadou, from Guinea, said he was 16 and had appealed against a decision by authorities in Paris not to accept his stated age. He arrived in the French capital in December and has been sleeping in the street awaiting his appeal process, moving between the east and the north of the city.
“I just want somewhere to sleep, and to study,” he said. “I’m so tired, it’s cold on the street. Police come and wake us up to move us on; there’s no water, no sanitation, little food. I never thought we’d suffer like this in France.”
He arrived in Europe by boat from Tunisia to Italy and was rescued with other passengers after being at sea for three days. Two people onboard with him had died.
Abdoulie, who was born in the Gambia and grew up in Senegal, said he had appealed against French authorities rejecting his age as 17. He said: “I’ve faced only pain and suffering since I arrived here last year. It has been horrendous,” he said. “I’ve had to sleep on the street which is extremely difficult, charities give out tents and blankets but it’s cold, I can’t get proper rest and sometimes the police move us on. It has surprised me to be treated like this in France.”
He said of his journey to Europe by boat from Morocco to Spain: “I never thought I’d ever see Europe, there was heavy rain and wind, people were crying, we all thought we’d die.”
Paul Alauzy, a coordinator for the medical charity Médecins du Monde, said young migrants suffered psychological trauma after leaving their homes, undertaking dangerous journeys and then not being believed about their age.
“Living on the street in Paris is not compatible with any kind of good health. Three weeks living in a tent under a bridge in Paris means sleep deprivation, headaches, viruses, cold temperatures, police moving you on, problems with bones and muscles, malnutrition, viruses and skin diseases such as scabies.”
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