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Police evict hundreds of migrants squatting in Paris theatre for months
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
French police evicted 400 migrants from a Paris theatre after months of squatting, sparking protests and highlighting the need for housing solutions.
PARIS (Reuters) -French police evicted more than 400 migrants on Tuesday who had been squatting inside the Gaite Lyrique theatre in central Paris for more than three months.
Officers began their operation shortly before 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) at the theatre, where hundreds of demonstrators had gathered to protest against the eviction.
Since December 10, the migrants, including many unaccompanied minors, had occupied the concert and arts venue as part of their demands for shelter, leading the Gaite Lyrique management to suspend its operations on December 17.
A large banner on the Gaite Lyrique read: "400 lives at risk, 80 jobs under threat."
"Shame, shame, shame to authorities who are at war with isolated minors," demonstrators chanted in solidarity with the migrants, urging local authorities to provide sustainable housing to them rather than force them out.
Police briefly used tear gas at the start of their operation, but overall, the evacuation proceeded without any major incidents.
There were 46 arrests and nine people were slightly injured, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told BFM TV.
"We had nowhere to go, we needed a shelter during the cold winter nights. So we had no choice but to occupy the Gaite Lyrique," said Dialo Aimmedou, who said he was 16 and arrived in France in October 2024.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told France Inter radio on Tuesday that the evacuation had to be done, and that emergency housing had been offered to the migrants.
"At this stage, this was the thing to do because the situation was becoming complicated, tense and dangerous inside," she said.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Antony Paone, Editing by Alex Richardson and Bernadette Baum)
The article discusses the eviction of over 400 migrants from the Gaite Lyrique theatre in Paris by French police.
The eviction was due to the prolonged occupation of the theatre, which disrupted its operations and posed safety concerns.
Demonstrators protested the eviction, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo stated emergency housing was offered to the migrants.
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