French police conducted an operation at dawn on Wednesday to clear dozens of migrants, including families with young children, from the forecourt of Paris City Hall. Approximately 50 individuals, mostly women and children aged 3 months to 10 years, were removed from the plaza where they had been sleeping under blankets and plastic sheets to shield against the rain.
The migrants were relocated to temporary local government housing in the town of Besançon in eastern France. Concerns have been raised by aid workers that this action may signal a broader effort by Paris authorities to clear out migrants and individuals sleeping rough in the city ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games without providing adequate longer-term housing solutions.
