Homeless Hotels and Shantytowns Evicted Due to Olympics
Similar Cases Repeated in 1988 and Beijing Olympics
Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the French government is facing controversy over its plan to relocate homeless people from Paris to other regions.
On the 24th (local time), according to the British daily The Guardian and others, the French government requested public officials across the country in mid-March this year to prepare temporary local facilities capable of accommodating homeless people flowing into Paris.
The French authorities plan to operate the low-cost hotels, which have been temporarily provided as shelters for the homeless, as accommodations for sports fans and tourists. The French government made this decision anticipating a shortage of lodging facilities due to the Paris Olympics held in July-August next year and the Rugby World Cup starting in September.
Olivier Klein, Minister of Housing, appeared before parliament on the 5th and explained that due to the impact of hosting large sports events, "the capacity of hotels available to accommodate homeless people is expected to decrease by 3,000 to 4,000," hence the need to prepare temporary accommodation spaces.
According to the media, the plan to relocate homeless people to other regions aligns with President Emmanuel Macron’s policy to disperse immigrants and those in need of social support from densely populated Paris to other regions.
However, the areas proposed as temporary homeless shelters are fiercely opposing the plan.
Philippe Salmon, mayor of Br?, Brittany, a town with a population of 18,000, expressed opposition, calling it "an unacceptable condition."
He pointed out that the proposed site for the shelter is next to a railway line and "contaminated with hydrocarbons and heavy metals."
Pascal Bris, head of the homeless charity 'Solidarity Workers Union,' said, "In principle, accommodating Paris’s homeless in better environments across France is positive," but expressed doubts about whether the necessary resources will be invested to ensure proper relocation of the homeless.
Adrien Clouet, a member of the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI), criticized the French government, saying it "has adopted the authoritarian regime’s method of forcibly hiding homeless people out of sight of those attending the 2024 Olympics."
Chasing Away Beggars and Homeless for the Olympics... "Olympics Have Never Helped the Poor"
Japanese citizens are holding a protest against the Olympics near the National Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, where the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was held, carrying placards that read "The Olympics kill poor people." [Image source=Yonhap News]
It is a recurring pattern that vulnerable groups are pushed to the outskirts ahead of national events like the Olympics.
A similar incident occurred during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. At that time, the Chun Doo-hwan regime forcibly demolished shantytowns citing the passage of the torch relay and urban beautification as reasons. In 2008, Chinese authorities sent beggars, homeless people, and street vendors back to their hometowns ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
During the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil, homeless people were driven out of tourist areas late at night and confined within 'favelas' (slums) while the games were held.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were no exception. Tent shelters of homeless people along roads where International Olympic Committee (IOC) inspection buses passed during the bid site visit were marked with demolition warnings. Even afterward, homeless people were forced to leave their homes due to construction related to Tokyo Olympic facilities.
One homeless person in Tokyo told the media, "I think the Olympics have hardly ever helped poor people."
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