Evictions in shelters continue ---- At the Amandiers shelter in the 20th
arrondissement of Paris, Mr. Djibi Niabali, a retired immigrant workeraged over 80 who has lived there since 1983, was evicted by the police
because he was hosting his son. The next day, around forty residents
were present in the lobby of the shelter, accompanied by neighbors and
solidarity associations from the neighborhood. A general meeting was
held to discuss the eviction policy of Adef, the social landlord. An
appointment was made for 2:30 p.m. to welcome the manager of his site
and ask him to call the management so that they could come and talk to
the angry residents. Seeing the crowd waiting for him in the lobby, this
manager preferred to turn on his heels and call the police without
trying to understand what was happening. A few minutes later, four
police officers without any distinctive signs came to try to intimidate
the angry residents and threaten to take Mr. Niabali into custody,
because he had allegedly committed an offence by returning to his
accommodation after the eviction. The residents' demands are: the
reinstatement of Mr. Niabali in his room, with the signing of a new
contract while waiting for the contract to be transferred to his son's
name as soon as it is regularised; the cessation of evictions and checks
for accommodation; other reinstatements, in particular of Mr. Mamadou
Sy, another retiree who was evicted four months ago during a short visit
to the country; the discussion of the other recent evictions from the
home; the transfer of the current manager; the cessation of surveillance
by technicians who come to repair breakdowns and who take the liberty of
photographing and filming the rooms without the residents' knowledge;
the end of double billing for the repair of broken or unusable materials
or equipment, residents already pay a "furniture service" each month in
their fee, Adef allows itself to charge in addition and at a high price
any replacement of equipment; the discussion on all these points with
the general director of Adef Habitat, Mr. Dominique Bourgine. After
three days of mobilization of residents, supporters and the
neighborhood, and an appearance in the media, Adef finally came to
negotiate and accepted the reinstatement of Mr. Niabali and his son
(without a signed contract for the moment), suspended the procedures in
progress against 70 residents, promised to examine on a case-by-case
basis the situation of residents already evicted, promised the transfer
of the manager and promised for the umpteenth time to stop double
billing. A victory therefore, but only partial.
Source: COPAF
The struggle continues at Chronopost in Alfortville
As a reminder, nearly 200 undocumented workers have been fighting since
December 2021 against a cascading subcontracting system on behalf of
Chronopost, a subsidiary of La Poste. They are holding a picket line in
front of the Alfortville agency (south-east of Paris) and are receiving
support from unions (South) and a collective of undocumented workers
(the CTSPV). On December 5, 2023, La Poste - the parent company - was
sentenced by the Paris judicial court for failing to comply with its
duty of care regarding the use of subcontracting. However, since the
start of the struggle, the Val-de-Marne prefecture has only agreed to
receive 32 files, and has only granted 15 regularizations, including 4
for Chronopost strikers. On August 9 and 27, under the pretext of the
Olympic Games (which were not held in Val-de-Marne), the prefecture
issued orders banning demonstrations by undocumented workers. For the
last date, the prefecture was condemned by the administrative court of
Melun, seized in summary proceedings, for violating the right to
demonstrate. The last demonstration took place on October 18. In
addition to the demands for regularization, the slogans were directed
against the Barnier government's desire to remake yet another
"immigration law".
Source: struggle leaflets
Outsourcing asylum seekers, it continues!
In these columns, we discussed at length the English case with the
project to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. After several legal turmoil,
and above all a prohibitive cost (280 million euros), the project was
abandoned by the new Labor government - which incidentally intends to
fight against "irregular" immigration in other ways. The idea of
outsourcing asylum applications to a third country is being taken up by
the neo-Mussolini government of Meloni, which last year signed a
bilateral agreement with Albania to subcontract these administrative
procedures and possibly accommodate 36,000 applicants. Why Albania?
Because the social-democratic government of Edi Rama dreams of joining
the EU and it costs nothing because everything is taken care of by
Italy. A detention center with 880 places (in containers!) is built and
it provides work for the local population. As these lines are written,
the first convoy of undocumented migrants has been sent there. They are
16 migrants rescued at sea by the Italian authorities who come from
Egypt and Bangladesh. The nationality of these people may be surprising
- no Africans while they are a significant proportion of migrants -
because the agreement only concerns migrants deemed "non-vulnerable",
that is to say coming from a so-called safe country where returns are
possible. A list of 21 "safe" countries has been established, including
Bangladesh, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Tunisia. Last year, more than 56,000
migrants arrived in Italy from these four countries. The administrative
procedures for applying for asylum will be done by videoconference with
the Peninsula. A great madness! But now we learn that the 16 migrants
are being sent back to Italy because the justice system doubts their
"non-vulnerable" nature. Let's wait and see what happens next, but the
passage of a few decrees should allow this deportation that Meloni
ardently desires. This seems like a big PR stunt to satisfy his
xenophobic electorate, when we know that this mechanism costs millions:
65 million euros for the construction of the camp and 160 million per
year for its operation (transport, personnel, equipment, etc.). Another
obstacle is that the detainees cannot be detained for more than four
weeks in Albania, and therefore it will be necessary to plan for round
trips across the Adriatic Sea. Nevertheless, the idea of outsourcing
asylum applications outside the EU via "return hubs" is gaining ground
among the 27 Member States, as the subject was debated at the Brussels
summit in mid-October. All governments agree to "manage irregular
migrants", in particular to toughen the 2008 "returns" directive which
harmonises the rules for returning migrants to the border but which is
considered too lax. Among them, 15 countries propose to explore "new
solutions", including the transfer of asylum seekers to third countries.
These are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia,
Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands,
Austria, Poland and Romania - countries that are mainly from Eastern
Europe and/or led by the extreme right. Germany considers this
"solution" not suitable for large countries, while Macron for France
also rejects the project but in a political context of tension with the
Barnier/Retailleau government which wants to hunt in RN land.
Source: Le Monde
Collective of young people from the Parc de Belleville, victory!
These are unaccompanied minors who have been fighting for a year in
Paris. With their energy, determination and support (associations,
politicians, residents), they played the party poopers during an open
day at the Paris city hall on October 12, and obtained immediate
accommodation for 200 isolated minors as well as a dozen families with
young children. The action followed a letter sent by the collective to
the municipality on September 20 and remained unanswered. What better
than to go and ask for it directly! Emergency accommodation is provided
in requisitioned gymnasiums, but vigilance remains required for the
future and the fight continues. The collective is asking to be received
by the city hall. The rest is in their press release: "In order to
address the issue of reception, school, health and mobility, we must
come out of denial and create solid structures to sustain resources that
meet the challenges. We are one of the only Parisian collectives that
politically brings the situation of isolated minors to life, for a year
we have obtained hundreds of accommodation places and massive access to
schooling. This situation requires that the city hall recognize us as
key interlocutors concerning questions of solidarity, accommodation and
the fight against discrimination.
We also have other demands that the city hall is not following up on,
despite the start of a dialogue before the summer. In particular, we are
asking for access to a Navigo pass, as for all minors in Paris. We also
want our access to school to be facilitated: for young people on the
street, it is impossible to produce an accommodation certificate, which
is nevertheless necessary for registration. Finally, we want to discuss
the precarious housing conditions in gymnasiums and their management,
which is always done without us being consulted."
Source: Collectif des jeunes du parc de Belleville. To support them,
make a donation at https://www.helloasso.com/associati...
But meanwhile, in Toulouse, 200 unaccompanied minors on the streets
This is the consequence of a decision taken by the Haute-Garonne
prefecture in mid-October against the occupation of a building since
March. Unaccompanied minors and their supporters are organized within
the AutonoMIE collective (for unaccompanied foreign minors). There have
already been precedents: last February, an amphitheater at the
Paul-Sabatier university was temporarily occupied and then evicted.
Before the eviction decision was handed down by the courts, a
demonstration took place in front of the departmental council, but that
didn't change anything. Let's hope that the balance of power is
maintained and strengthened to obtain small victories like in Paris (see
the isolated minors of Belleville).
Source: Révolution permanente
Preparation for December 18
It is International Migrants Day and there are traditionally
demonstrations, particularly in Paris. Coordination is done by the
Marche des solidarités, which brings together groups from all over
France. A call for this day is currently being drafted and will be made
public from October 29. The aim is to give ourselves the means so that
the number and scale of the mobilizations are up to the current
challenges: the effects of the Darmanin law, the preparation of a new
"immigration law" in the Retailleau style, the increasingly assumed
state racism with a kingmaker RN practically in power. Several
coordinations exist: that of isolated minors in struggle, which meets
every first Thursday of the month and which brings together several
localities (Paris, Lille, Clermont-Ferrand, Marseille); that of the
anti-racist and anti-fascist neighborhood assemblies which exist in
several cities, such as Paris, Rennes or Marseille. A delegation made up
of members of several of these assemblies will go to London on Saturday
October 26 to participate in a mobilization organized by Stand Up to
Racism in order to respond to a call to demonstrate in the streets of
London launched by the fascists - behind the fascist figure Tommy
Robinson. If you want to join this coordination, contact them by email:
marche-des-solidarites@riseup.net
Source:
La Marche des solidarités
7 Basque activists charged after a solidarity race
La Korrika is a foot race of approximately 2,700 kilometers that runs
throughout the Basque Country (north and south), for 11 days and 10
nights, for the defense of Basque identity including the language. It
takes place every two years and brings together thousands of
participants. This year was the occasion for an action of civil
disobedience by about twenty organizations that claimed the crossing of
the border by 36 exiles during the journey between Irun (Spain) and
Bayonne (France). Identified by the broadcast of a video of claim, 7
people were summoned to the Bayonne comico and came out with another
summons for the court hearing on January 28. These activists come from
the LAB union, the Bidasoa Etorkinekin - a federation of associations
helping migrants -, but also from the political parties EH Bai (Basque
left) and La France insoumise. The support is significant, as is often
the case in the Basque Country. Nearly 80 organizations have given their
support to the 7 accused, and organized a demonstration on September 30.
An appeal demands "the definitive opening of the borders (...) in order
to guarantee the free movement of all". For the record, La France
insoumise of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques did not want to sign the appeal
but participated in the demonstration. Legally, aiding illegal entry,
movement and residence constitutes an offense in French law, according
to the CESEDA (code of entry and residence of foreigners and the right
to asylum). But if there is no "direct or indirect compensation" or if
the aid is provided "for an exclusively humanitarian purpose", no
prosecution can be initiated. This was the whole point of the public
debate around the "crime of solidarity" opened in France in 2017 by the
farmer in solidarity with exiles Cédric Herrou.
Sources: Rapports de force,
MediaBask
RSI trial postponed
The temporary employment agency RSI, specializing in construction, is
accused of having carried out undeclared work. More than 30 undocumented
workers filed a civil suit at the end of September, but the judgment in
the case has been postponed until April 29 and 30. A demonstration of
support took place in front of the court to also demand the
regularization of RSI workers. This strike movement has been going on
since 2021. Out of 83 strikers, only 26 are currently regularized.
Source: Le Parisien
Revolt at the CRA of Mesnil-Amelot
After the death of a 27-year-old man on October 18, a strike by
prisoners occurred, consisting of refusing to return to their cells.
According to the testimonies of those incarcerated, the cops took a long
time to come to the aid of this person. A few days earlier, there was an
attempted suicide by a detainee, again with a big delay in the
intervention of the jailers - more than 45 minutes! This recalls the
atrocious conditions of detention, increased to 90 days with the
Darmanin law of last January and with announcements by the new top cop
of France, Bruno Retailleau, to extend the confinement to 210 days. As a
reminder, in 2023, only a third of the detainees of Mesnil-Amelot were
finally sent back to their country. Down with the CRA!
Source: L'Envolée. See also the blog "Down with the CRA"
http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4306
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