Paris removes homeless ahead of 2024 Olympics, sparking outrage

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are fast approaching. The French authorities are doing everything to welcome the athletes and fans properly. To this end, a radical step has been taken: people experiencing homelessness are being removed from the city's streets.

What comes to mind when you think of the Olympic Games? For fans, it's a time of increased TV viewing to keep up with the competitions and cheer on their athletes. Athletes dedicate a large portion of their lives to preparing for the most important sporting events in the world. For the organisers and the city authorities chosen to host the event, the Olympic Games mean enormous expenditures on new buildings, the infrastructure needed to organise the event, or thoroughly cleaning and preparing the city for the games.

French activists are raising the alarm. The Paris authorities are reportedly moving the homeless on the French capital's streets to centres in other parts of the country. The Utopia 56 Foundation wrote on platform X that there was a new eviction along the Seine this morning. The Ministry of the Interior is using 'terrorism risk' as a pretext for the operation. About a hundred young people are once again wandering the streets of Paris.

The bodies responsible for removing the homeless and "other undesirable individuals" are the gendarmerie and the police. Paul Alauzy from Médecins du Monde said in a statement:

"They are hiding the misery under the rug. If this really was a dignified solution to the problem, people would be fighting to get on the buses. They’re not. We are in the process of making life impossible for these people and those who support them"

Activists' outrage has prompted a response from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. The politician explains that the city hall has repeatedly appealed to the government to provide housing for Paris's homeless. In an interview with "The Guardian," Hidalgo said:

"I am angry about this being pushed on to the city [authority] because it’s not our role or responsibility and we already play more than our part in finding urgent accommodation for vulnerable people. Every week we are putting families into homes."