French charities decry 'social cleansing' ahead of Paris Olympics

A collective of French charities accused organisers of the Paris Olympics on Monday of "social cleansing" the capital by targeting migrants, squatters, the homeless and sex workers.

A new report from the "Other Side of the Medal" group, which brings together 80 different charities, said Paris was following a playbook used by other Olympic host cities.

"We hoped that this edition would be different from previous ones and we made suggestions over a long period in this regard," the report said.

"Today... we can state that Paris 2024 will be no different from previous editions and will truly accelerate the exclusion of the most vulnerable."

The report looked in particular at actions by the French police to clear squats, as well as migrant camps and the homeless from Paris streets.

It said there had been 26 operations to clear migrant camps so far in 2024, "almost the same as for the whole of the year 2022 (when there were 30)."

Since April last year, a total of 10 squats used by migrants, including a former factory close to the Olympic village, had been cleared, affecting 1,967 people.

Many migrants -- two thirds of the 6,000 rounded up by public authorities in 2023 -- were sent to regional shelters outside of the Paris region under a policy defended by French authorities as a means of relieving housing pressure in the capital.

The report took aim at statements by French ministers and police chiefs that the crackdown was not connected with the Olympics which begin on July 26.

"This argument was weak before and today it is totally unconvincing," the report concluded.

Areas used by sex workers in northern Paris and in the forest of Vincennes to the east of the capital had seen "increased police pressure" leading to identity checks, detentions and expulsion orders for dozens of people.

"This summer, Paris and its region will be able to present themselves in a way that authorities see as favourable: a sterile 'City of Light', with its misery almost invisible, without important informal areas of life, 'clean' neighbourhoods and woods, without beggars, drug use or sex work," the report concluded.

The Other Side of the Medal includes major charities such as Medicins du Monde, the Salvation Army or Action against Hunger, as well as many local groups working on the ground with migrants and other vulnerable communities.