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Evacuation under tension at the Gaîté Lyrique: 450 young migrants expelled

undefined undefined 18 mars 2025 undefined 14h00

undefined undefined 18 mars 2025 undefined 14h05

The Editor

© Luc Auffrey - X

Since December, the Gaîté Lyrique has been home to hundreds of young migrants, but it was evacuated on the morning of Tuesday, March 18, during a forceful intervention by law enforcement. The day before, the police prefecture had justified this operation by citing a “public order disturbance.”

This Tuesday morning, in the chilly Parisian air, tensions were especially high around the Gaîté Lyrique, where protests, tear gas, and baton strikes mixed together. Just before 6 AM, law enforcement began the evacuation of this iconic cultural venue, which had been occupied for over three months by nearly 450 young migrants in search of shelter.


« The Shame » 

In the face of the police, around a hundred protesters tried to intervene, chanting, « Shame, shame on this government that declares war on the isolated! ». The law enforcement responded by using tear gas before entering the premises; this display of force was deemed excessive, especially since only a few people remained inside the building.

The police operation wrapped up around 8:30 AM. According to Le Parisien, nearly 200 people outraged by the violence gathered to show their solidarity with the migrants, who were once again repressed and dispersed with batons, kettling, and tear gas.

Several protesters may have fallen during a crowd surge.


What accommodation solutions are there?  

The day before the evacuation, Prefect Laurent Nuñez assured that accommodation solutions would be put in place for young migrants and that their administrative situations would be closely examined. Agents from the Île-de-France prefecture, responsible for emergency housing and recognizable by their red vests, were on site this Tuesday morning to engage with them. 

According to left-wing MP Danielle Simonnet, who spoke to Le Parisien, the prefecture proposed to relocate the migrants to Rouen (Seine-Maritime). She considers this solution to be "far from satisfactory, especially for those who have ongoing procedures in Paris and who are enrolled in school here ." As a result, the majority of migrants refused to board the buses heading there.

from others, from Normandy. For now, the uncertainty remains, casting a shadow of a forced wandering for these young people without a refuge.