EUROPE-MIGRANTS/FRANCE RALLY Thousands rally in Paris to show support for migrants

Record ID: 141807

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/FRANCE RALLY Thousands rally in Paris to show support for migrants
  • Date: 5th September 2015
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (SEPTEMBER 5, 2015) (REUTERS) DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED IN A SQUARE IN PARIS PERSON HOLDING SIGN READING (French): "STOP ASSAD'S MASSACRES = STOP THE INFLUX OF REFUGEES" DEMONSTRATORS HOLDING SYRIAN OPPOSITION FLAG AND SIGNS DEMONSTRATORS HOLDING SIGNS READING (French): "YES TO THE WELCOME" AND "NEVER FORGET WHOSE FAULT IT IS: BASHAR AL ASSAD" (SOUNDBITE) (French) DEMONSTRATOR, ANNETTE CREMIEU, SAYING: "I want the war to end. This is the origin of everything. I also want us to welcome the migrants, it's not possible to see such things, it's a scandal. Europe totally changed its position and I am very angry with this." DEMONSTRATORS PLACARDS WITH NAMES OF MIGRANTS AND THEIR AGES WOMAN HOLDING UP SIGN READING (English) "WELCOME" / RAINBOW FLAG IN BACKGROUND (SOUNDBITE) (French) DEMONSTRATOR, THOMAS AKEL, SAYING: "It's necessary to help these people. They are coming to France to find a land of welcome and a free land, it's necessary to help them so they can live with their family, with their children. We have to help them, we can't abandon them, we have to help them." DEMONSTRATOR HOLDING SIGN READING (French): "HOSPITALITY FOR THE REFUGEES" DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED IN SQUARE
  • Embargoed: 20th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA60EJSV3M3UZ8VV4SJ3D2ENJOC
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thousands of people rallied in Paris on Saturday (September 5) in solidarity with migrants and refugees, calling on the French government to do more to welcome Syrian refugees who are struggling on their journey to Europe.
    Paris prefecture said 8,500 people had gathered on the Republique square in Paris while more rallies were taking place in other French cities.
    Holding signs reading "yes to the welcome" or "hospitality for refugees", demonstrators called for an end to the war in Syria to stop the tragedy.
    "I want the war to end. This is the origin of everything. I also want us to welcome the migrants, it's not possible to see such things, it's a scandal. Europe totally changed its position and I am very angry with this," said Annette Cremieu, a retired Parisian, in the demonstration.
    "It's necessary to help these people. They are coming to France to find a land of welcome and a free land, it's necessary to help them so they can live with their family, with their children. We have to help them, we can't abandon them, we have to help them," said Thomas Akel, another demonstrator.
    The debate on the influx of migrants moved up a notch in France this week, where socialist party called for more solidarity with the migrants while the rightist party Les Republicains preferred other solutions to respond to the crisis.
    An opinion poll published on Wednesday (September 2) showed 56 percent of French people did not want their country to open its doors to more migrants.
    The poll conducted via internet on September 1-2 specifically asked respondents if France should take refugees fleeing Syria.
    But the picture of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi's body washed up in the Aegean resort of Bodrum swept social media on Wednesday, spawning sympathy and outrage at the perceived inaction of developed nations in helping refugees.
    Italy, France and Germany pushed on Friday (September 4) for a European system to repatriate more migrants who fail to qualify for asylum and to improve external border controls, as EU foreign ministers sought a broader response to the bloc's migrant crisis.
    European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will propose an expanded scheme next week to relocate asylum seekers around the EU from Hungary as well as Greece and Italy according to national quotas.
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