Paris' first official refugee shelter opens to take migrants off street
Paris' first official refugee shelter opens to take migrants off street
Henry Samuel10 NOVEMBER 2016 • 9:14PM
Paris' first official "humanitarian" migrant camp and reception centre opened its doors on Thursday in a disused hangar in the north of the capital.
Based near the Gare du Nord, where the London to Paris Eurostar terminal, the town hall is adamant the site offers no long term accommodation.
Instead, it will act as an official reception centre for migrants, mostly single men who have just arrived in Paris. Women and children will be taken straight to specific accommodation.
Occupants are only able to stay for a maximum of 10 days, after which they will be moved on to specific accommodation designated for asylum seekers.
In that time, they will be given access to help in processing their asylum applications, as well as food and medical care. A giant inflatable structure will act as a reception hall to offer migrants information and advice, access to translators as well as help on returning home voluntarily.
"The idea is to create a place where every newly arrived migrant can be welcomed and offered dignified, humane shelter," said Bruno Morel, head of the Emmaus Solidarite housing charity in charge of the centre.
It is hoped the centre will help take migrants off Paris streets, but with a capacity of just 400 and with 80 new arrivals every day, it risks being quickly saturated.
Numbers of migrants have swollen in Paris since police dismantled the "jungle" migrant camp in Calais late last month. Last week police cleared 3,800 migrants from their tents in the north east of the capital.
Patrick Vieillescazes of the Paris area state prefect's office, said the centre would not be overrun as migrants would continually be dispatched to asylum centres around France after their brief stay.
Another Paris camp designated for women and children will also open in Ivry-sur-Seine to the south of the city at the beginning of 2017.
Paris' first official refugee shelter opens to take migrants off street
