03:42Dozens of French police officers dismantled tent camps set up by homeless people next to the Olympic Rings on Bastille Square in Paris on Tuesday.
Footage shows police officers, some armed with tear gas launchers, loading the tents into trucks, forcing the campers to leave the area with their belongings. Protesters are seen chanting anti-government slogans, while a banner declares that 'France is the champion of bad housing'.
"We have hundreds of unhoused people and homeless people that are spread over during the Olympics because the pressure on services is enormous," said Antoine de Clerck, Coordinator from Le Revers De La Medaille association, which translates as 'The other side of the medal'.
"They were really tired of being chased by the police, and they decided to gather tonight all together in this very specific place, which is Place de La Bastille. It's a very important monument for Paris in front of the Olympic rings to just ask for their basic rights of being sheltered, which is not respected by France," he explained.
De Clerck noted that while he would like to be enjoying the spectacle of the Paris Olympics, "this whole period is very bitter for us because we know all those people have been evicted, half of them have been bussed away out of Paris to other cities, the other half have been just pushed away, and they are roaming in the suburbs."
"Still, we have hundreds of people like those here, families as you can see, very young kids, toddlers, they need milk, they need diapers, they need, you know, very basic stuff to survive, and they got just nothing but chased by the police, and they are here to just try to get something a little better," he added.
Around 100 homeless people reportedly displaced by evictions across Paris ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, set up the campsite to protest what activists call 'social cleansing'.
The movement was reportedly organised by NGOs such as Utopia 56 and Droit Au Logement after reports suggested that over 12,500 people were forcibly evicted in the lead-up to the Olympics. Le Revers de la Medaille declared that the campaign was designed to 'make room for the beautiful Paris postcard'.
'Not respected by France' - French police evict homeless campers from protest by Olympic Rings on Bastille Square
Dozens of French police officers dismantled tent camps set up by homeless people next to the Olympic Rings on Bastille Square in Paris on Tuesday.
Footage shows police officers, some armed with tear gas launchers, loading the tents into trucks, forcing the campers to leave the area with their belongings. Protesters are seen chanting anti-government slogans, while a banner declares that 'France is the champion of bad housing'.
"We have hundreds of unhoused people and homeless people that are spread over during the Olympics because the pressure on services is enormous," said Antoine de Clerck, Coordinator from Le Revers De La Medaille association, which translates as 'The other side of the medal'.
"They were really tired of being chased by the police, and they decided to gather tonight all together in this very specific place, which is Place de La Bastille. It's a very important monument for Paris in front of the Olympic rings to just ask for their basic rights of being sheltered, which is not respected by France," he explained.
De Clerck noted that while he would like to be enjoying the spectacle of the Paris Olympics, "this whole period is very bitter for us because we know all those people have been evicted, half of them have been bussed away out of Paris to other cities, the other half have been just pushed away, and they are roaming in the suburbs."
"Still, we have hundreds of people like those here, families as you can see, very young kids, toddlers, they need milk, they need diapers, they need, you know, very basic stuff to survive, and they got just nothing but chased by the police, and they are here to just try to get something a little better," he added.
Around 100 homeless people reportedly displaced by evictions across Paris ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, set up the campsite to protest what activists call 'social cleansing'.
The movement was reportedly organised by NGOs such as Utopia 56 and Droit Au Logement after reports suggested that over 12,500 people were forcibly evicted in the lead-up to the Olympics. Le Revers de la Medaille declared that the campaign was designed to 'make room for the beautiful Paris postcard'.
Dozens of French police officers dismantled tent camps set up by homeless people next to the Olympic Rings on Bastille Square in Paris on Tuesday.
Footage shows police officers, some armed with tear gas launchers, loading the tents into trucks, forcing the campers to leave the area with their belongings. Protesters are seen chanting anti-government slogans, while a banner declares that 'France is the champion of bad housing'.
"We have hundreds of unhoused people and homeless people that are spread over during the Olympics because the pressure on services is enormous," said Antoine de Clerck, Coordinator from Le Revers De La Medaille association, which translates as 'The other side of the medal'.
"They were really tired of being chased by the police, and they decided to gather tonight all together in this very specific place, which is Place de La Bastille. It's a very important monument for Paris in front of the Olympic rings to just ask for their basic rights of being sheltered, which is not respected by France," he explained.
De Clerck noted that while he would like to be enjoying the spectacle of the Paris Olympics, "this whole period is very bitter for us because we know all those people have been evicted, half of them have been bussed away out of Paris to other cities, the other half have been just pushed away, and they are roaming in the suburbs."
"Still, we have hundreds of people like those here, families as you can see, very young kids, toddlers, they need milk, they need diapers, they need, you know, very basic stuff to survive, and they got just nothing but chased by the police, and they are here to just try to get something a little better," he added.
Around 100 homeless people reportedly displaced by evictions across Paris ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, set up the campsite to protest what activists call 'social cleansing'.
The movement was reportedly organised by NGOs such as Utopia 56 and Droit Au Logement after reports suggested that over 12,500 people were forcibly evicted in the lead-up to the Olympics. Le Revers de la Medaille declared that the campaign was designed to 'make room for the beautiful Paris postcard'.