Cindi Cook
29 January 2020•Update: 29 January 2020
PARIS
A camp in Porte d'Aubervilliers of northern Paris holding hundreds of migrants was evacuated in the early morning by French police.
Some 1,436 people, including 93 children, were taken by bus to shelter in 17 different reception centers and gymnasiums throughout the Ile-de-France.
Since 2015, 60 such dismantling operations have taken place.
The population evacuated Tuesday included approximately 34 drug addicts who were given medical treatment upon leaving.
The Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo was present at the scene.
"For us, the situation must now calm down in this district. This evacuation should also allow these refugees who have lived for months on the streets to return to normal life with better integration," she said.
The operation Tuesday was carried out with the police prefecture of the Ile-de-France region and that of Paris as well.
The incident follows on a larger evacuation that took place on Nov. 7, 2019 where police cleared a migrant camp between Porte de la Chapelle and Seine-Saint-Denis, also in the north of the city. 1,606 migrants were cleared from 982 tents by an estimated 600 police officers dispatched to the area.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner earlier laid out plans to close other camps of the sort by the end of 2019. The camps can be a hazard to public life, encouraging crime as well as poverty, uncollected garbage, and an ensuing rodent infestation.
Didier Lallemont, the prefect of police for the region, said in a statement that his wish was to "liberate the area" and that Tuesday's evacuation "follows that of early November at the Porte de la Chapelle and is in line with the commitments made" by Castaner.
Since November, however, another camp has sprung up in the next porte, La Vilette, with approximately 300 migrants taking refuge there.
