Early July 2022 - We are a collective of migrants, mostly women, some of whom are pregnant, and children, the youngest of whom is 15 days old. We are homeless. We have already exhausted all temporary housing solutions with 115 and other organizations. The 115 offers temporary accommodation, from one to a few days, before putting us back on the street. This emergency solution requires us to be isolated and move throughout Paris and its surroundings. For several months, our only solutions were to sleep on the street. Faced with this unacceptable situation, in mid-May 2022, we decided to occupy a restaurant that had been vacant for at least 6 years at 30bis avenue Pasteur in Montreuil (Collectif Pasteur, https://squ.at/r/8ukv). We had improved this place as much as possible but it could not be a sustainable situation because it was in poor condition and the City Council decided to evict us.
The Prefecture of 93 has been alerted many times about our relocation but we have no answers. We are supported on a daily basis by associations, solidarity collectives of Montreuil but also by inhabitants of Montreuil. We just want the best for us children and follow-up for pregnant women. We want a place to live long-term, not a temporary place. We will keep the place clean, and we will take into account the neighborhood. We will organize activities for children, such as language classes, outings to parks, we also want the place to be the headquarters of our association.
The City Council claims to help us and fight for us, but they made a step to evict us. So we fight alone with our children, to give them a good education, and a good education cannot be done on the street. The City Council told us that they could not find so many housing places, but on its territory there are many empty dwellings. We have been at 31 rue Gambetta for more than 48 hours and evicting us of this building is illegal. We are at home and we intend to stay.
We hope that the City Council will give us a little respite in this new place. If they want us to leave this place, they'll have to offer us real accommodation solutions. Now we are here, but our new home is still threatened with eviction. The biggest risk will be tomorrow and the following days from 6am. A small lunch in front of the entrance of the squat will be organized, do not hesitate to come with your best cakes! Meet at 31 rue Gambetta in Montreuil.
The inhabitants