The largest squat in France - which sheltered up to 450 migrants - was being evacuated on Wednesday morning in the southern suburbs of Paris. The operation, expected for several days, prompted many homeless people who had found refuge in this abandoned business in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne), to leave the premises before the arrival of the police forces.
According to the United Migrants association, which regularly provides them with assistance, 80% of them are legally in France. For several months, the Revers de la Medal collective, which brings together associations helping precarious people living on the street, has been warning about the fate of the homeless whose makeshift camps are being dismantled at a more sustained pace ahead of the Olympics (July 26 - August 11.) Some 250 agents were mobilized for this operation, according to the Val-de-Marne prefecture. The approximately 300 occupants who still remained left the place shortly after 8 a.m. Some of them had been living in these premises for several months.