FRANCE: Eastern Europeans living rough next to a Parisian highway may soon be evicted

Record ID: 348314

  • Title: FRANCE: Eastern Europeans living rough next to a Parisian highway may soon be evicted
  • Date: 3rd August 2007
  • Summary: LAUNDRY HANGING TO DRY IN CAMP
  • Embargoed: 18th August 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAEJMRAUDLY09YRD3DYBOZI3DP8
  • Story Text: For many of the Eastern European immigrants who have entered France since Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in January, the dream of new jobs, comfortable homes and a better life ended has with living rough under canvas next to a Parisian highway. And now one community faces an even harder future, threatened with eviction from the camp that has become their home.
    In the past eight months the traditional tourist haven of Paris has become the favoured destination for an altogether different type of visitor, Eastern European immigrants flooding France in search of jobs they cannot find in their home countries.
    Since Bulgaria and Romania became part of the EU in January, the way has been cleared for their citizens to move freely to some of their more prosperous neighbours to find work.
    However, the reality with which they have been met is far from their dreams of a better life.
    With little or no means to pay for accommodation, and often prevented from taking places in hostels by their long unsociable hours, hundreds of men, and even women and children, have been forced into roadside encampments on the edges of the French capital.
    Living in such basic conditions, they have severe difficulties obtaining any sort of health or social care. This is in part due to the language barrier, and ex-military member Jean-Louis has been working as a volunteer to assist them with negotiating the complexities of French life.
    "Since he speaks French very badly, and him over there not at all, people don't understand, and they find themselves in abhorrent situations.
    People tell them they are married, so they have to provide their wedding certificate and family documents, whilst in fact they are not married. They are told they are being paid the minimum wage when they are not being paid anything like the minimum wage, so it's a complete mess. (Reporter's question: "And for the little boy, is he at school?") For the little boy, for the moment there is nobody looking after him, so we're going to have to find an association of some sort so that he is at least housed and fed, and so that he can go to school," Jean-Louis explained.
    Some of the immigrants rely on their own resources to bring home a small wage.
    "Work... I work... I am an artist, a painting artist. I do... with scissors, I work, l make money. For me, this is not a great job, but at least it's something. I earn my living," said one Bulgarian immigrant, Slavei.
    For others, hoping to take the unskilled jobs eschewed by the French population, labour restrictions limit them to searching for employment in just a handful of sectors. And stringent rulings on the validation of contracts by local authorities have pushed many into black market jobs out of desperation.
    "Some people here work normally, and they are paid under the counter, by cheque. What they do is, since they have no documents, they have nothing, they have to negotiate with the cheques with other people, who systematically take ten percent of the total from them," explained Jean -Louis.
    Although they have entered France legally, and have the right to live there, one community living at the Porte de Bagnolet to the east of Paris is now facing an even bleaker future as they are threatened with eviction from the encampment that they call home.
    "But, what's happening? I just got here and the police arrived, and they said 'you have one day to get rid of everything'. If not, they are going to come tomorrow, and move it themselves, into the rubbish; all this into the rubbish bin. This evening we can sleep, but tomorrow morning...
    " said Slavei after the arrival of the police at the camp.
    The majority of the residents of the camp are still hanging on a few days later, but with some already taking flight, and the rest living in permanent uncertainty, the days of the Porte de Bagnolet encampment are numbered.
    Parisian authorities were not available for comment.
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