A coalition of more than 100 community groups accused Parisian authorities on Monday, Nov. 4, of removing nearly 20,000 people including 4,500 minors from shelters and tents to make way for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Monday, Nov. 4. The advocacy coalition is now calling for the Olympic hosting model to be reevaluated and suggesting a permanent site for future Olympic Games as well as for authorities to take steps to prevent forced removals.
The group’s data showed evictions grew by 41% from April 2023 to September 2024 compared to the same period in 2021 and 2022.
Advocates for the homeless community say forced removals amount to “social cleansing,” alleging it was a concerted effort to keep migrants and squatters out of the view of the Olympic Games, facilities and Olympic sites.
The report did note that the numbers of those displaced may be inflated because some people may have been evicted several times.
French officials did not immediately respond to the report.
Straight Arrow News reported in July about efforts by the French government to bus out homeless migrants ahead of the Olympics. Around 5,000 people were reportedly evicted under a program busing homeless migrants out of Paris and into other French towns.
French President Emmanuel Macron claimed the program was voluntary and denied the effort was connect to the Olympic Games.