Online photos and videos of a scuffle between the French police and demonstrators have led to social media uproar. Gerald Darmian, French Interior Minister, says he is launching a probe into the late Monday clashes set in motion during the clearance of refugees camp in Paris’ Place de la Republique.
The minister termed the images as “shocking.” French police were hitting demonstrators as refugees were forcibly being removed from their tents by officers. To help the refugees, refugee rights advocates and activists made their way to the square but were pushed back.
Inhumane treatment
The mayor of Paris’s advisor on matters of emergency accommodation, refugee protection, and housing, Ian Brossat, tweeted that elected officials were barred from observing the Monday night proceeding. He also stated that the refugees were harassed.
Corrine Torre, the head of Doctors Without Borders in France, narrated how the police lifted tents with people inside, shaking them until they tumbled, and those who resisted were kicked or beaten with batons.
Provide them with accommodation
Brossat, through his Twitter handle, further urged the French government to provide accommodation for the refugees as a long-term solution to the refugee problem.
“The risk is that tomorrow it will be the same story. As long as there is no accommodation, there will be people outside. As long as there are people outside, there will be camps. To think we will regulate this with police harassment, as they did this evening, is not ethical,” his tweet read.
Short-lived camp
The one-week-old camp emerged after the police cleared out a larger campsite close to the French national stadium.
The camp largely constituted Somali, Afghanistan, and Eritrea nationals, some of which have been denied asylum, while others are struggling with the bureaucratic procedures of applying for the same.
Closure of the camp saw Aid groups try to find temporary shelters for the affected persons on Tuesday.
Police Defense
According to the Paris police headquarters, the Republique camp was illegal. The police further invited the people to seek aid groups or state offered lodging instead.
Police also reported that at least 3,000 people had been sheltered via officially dedicated centers. They further add that people in a “regular situation” need to be directed to the places while people in an “irregular situation” need to leave.
More protection for the police
The evacuation came during a period when French politicians voted on a law that would give more freedom and protection to the French police.
Article 24 of the legislation stipulates that circulating the images with the sole aim of tarnishing an officer’s “integrity” would amount to a prison sentence of not more than one year and a maximum fine of €45,000.
Media freedom groups and human rights activist groups have offered heavy criticism to the draft law stating that capturing videos and police images at work is necessary to check on how the police exercise their roles.
Europe is currently preparing to recondition its reaction to the current migrant situation by focusing more on deporting unrightfully asylum seekers.
France is also on high-security alert following a republication of Prophet Muhammad caricature by a French magazine, something deeply offensive to Muslims.
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