The police evacuated the squat ” Pyramid “, one of the most important in Lyon, this Monday, October 30 in the morning. An operation judged “unacceptable” by the environmentalist town hall two days before the winter break.
After this evacuation, 74 people were relocated for eight nights in hotels in the metropolis of Lyon and the departments of Rhône and Loire, according to a press release published by the prefecture in the afternoon.
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Pursuant to a court decision and in view of the serious facts brought to her attention (sexual violence, prostitution, drug trafficking, etc.) and the dilapidation of the building endangering its occupants, the Prefect ordered the evacuation of the squat “Pyramid” in Lyon 7th. pic.twitter.com/YHE95bAWrF
— Prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Rhône region (@prefetrhone) October 30, 2023
Twitter – Prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Rhône region on Twitter /
The Lyon town hall and the associations, for their part, mentioned 200 to 250 occupants in this squat in the south of the city. In a press release, the City of Lyon regretted this evacuation, indicating that it had contacted the authorities ” for many months “ pour “working towards a solution”. “The announcement of an evacuation two days before the winter break, an unprecedented event in our city, is unacceptable”underlined the environmentalist municipality.
Cases of “sexual violence, prostitution and drug trafficking”
Around 80 men were deployed around 6 a.m. in front of the former offices of a company to evacuate the premises in accordance with an order taken in July, according to the prefecture to AFP.
Expulsion from the Pyramid squat #Lyon : the bailiff has arrived, police officers have just entered under chants of “evictions are disgusting” pic.twitter.com/vgRPtAgraI
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— Le Progrès Lyon (@leprogreslyon) October 30, 2023
Twitter – Le Progrès Lyon on Twitter /
“Several months ago, we had reports from associations and social workers, which indicated that the situation was extremely worrying” in terms of electrical or fire risk, Vanina Nicoli, the prefect secretary general of the Rhône prefecture, explained to AFP on site.
“It was not possible to maintain the situation”she justified by evoking “pressure from slumlords” and cases of “sexual violence, prostitution and drug trafficking”.
Declining resources, inflation… France faces an unprecedented shortage of social housing
“What we condemn is really the lack of dialogue”told AFP Sandrine Runel, municipal solidarity assistant, recalling the ” tense situation “ emergency housing in Lyon.
The prefecture, for its part, mentions “preparatory orientation work” engaged for several weeks, with 25 children and adults already “sheltered since the end of summer 2023” and recalls that the squat had been the subject of a report by the mayor of Lyon.
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“After seven days, we will be on the streets”
In addition to the people relocated to hotels on Monday, six others will benefit from return assistance offered by the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII), two will be supported by the applicant reception system asylum and two minors by the Métropole de Lyon, according to the prefecture. The temporary rehousing solution satisfies neither the occupants nor the associations.
A small suitcase at her feet, Binta, 27, originally from Guinea and regularized in 2021, had been living in this squat for two years, waiting for emergency accommodation. “After seven days, we will be on the streets”she told AFP.
Real estate, the housing bomb
“There are a lot of people working, migrants, French people too, a retired gentleman, quite a few profiles”according to Colette Blanchon, member of the Intersquats collective mobilized on site.
“These are people who can’t find housing. There is a housing crisis and the people left behind are there”she lamented, specifying that it was necessary “three years to have social housing in Lyon”.
2023-10-31 04:15:01
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