Paris's illegal immigrants fight to live openly
Illegal immigrants seeking legal residency in France demonstrate at a government building they have occupied in central Paris. Pierre Verdy/AFP AFP
Hundreds of people in France's biggest squat wage a vocal campaign for legal residency

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Article Comments (49) Susan Sachs


Published on Monday, Dec. 07, 2009 8:47PM EST

Last updated on Tuesday, Dec. 08, 2009 2:23AM EST


Dieneba Ninae is hiding in plain sight, like the hundreds of other undocumented immigrants who have taken over a four-storey government office building in the centre of Paris.

The 50-year-old Mauritanian woman lives like a refugee. She has two bulging plastic sacks of clothes, a space heater, some blankets and a mattress on the floor of a room she shares with seven people, including a baby who cries through the night.

“We just want to be regularized,â€