Paris mayor announces opening of first 'humanitarian camp' in the city
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced the opening of the first official refugee camp in the French capital. She says it will open within the next six weeks.
During a press conference Tuesday, Hidalgo stressed that the new "humanitarian camp" would conform to UN regulations.
She said several sites north of Paris had been identified as possible location for the camp. The exact site will be confirmed in the next few days.
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The camp will offer "day care" as well as "longer-term accommodation for people arriving destitute", Hidalgo said.
Hundreds of migrants have been camping rough in the city's subways and parks such as Les Jardins D'Eole.
"Paris will not stand by and do nothing as the Mediterranean becomes a graveyard of refugees," she said, adding that the modular accommodation would have to be installed quickly but with every comfort.
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The mayor said she was inspired by work at Grande-Synthe in Dunkirk on France's northern coast, where France's first internationally recognised camp opened earlier this year.
The announcement comes as the UN refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) revealed that up to 1,000 migrants and refugees drowned in the Mediterranean in the past week.
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