I visited a tent encampment in Porte de la Chappelle, Paris that was scheduled for eviction the following day, a squat in Toulouse scheduled for eviction on 15 April 2019, and a Roma informal settlement in Marseille scheduled for eviction in July 2019.
Most evictions of informal settlements are only carried out after judicial eviction orders, thus it appears that national courts do not always adequately take international human rights standards into account.
According to Romeurope, only 12.7 percent of households evicted were provided with temporary accommodation by the State after eviction, usually in rooms in social hotels, which do not necessarily correspond to the needs of the people and families evicted. Only 2.5 percent of all persons evicted from informal settlements were provided with long-term housing solutions with social supports, while classical housing units were reportedly only offered to 18 persons, or 0.2 percent[1]. 84.5 percent of all persons evicted in 2018 from informal settlements were provided with the option of calling the emergency number 115 to obtain a place in an emergency shelter for one night. It can be estimated that less than 5 percent of all persons affected have been relocated to new long-term housing options in compliance with international human rights standards[2].
The only protection that residents of informal settlements enjoy is the moratorium on evictions during the winter period from 1 November to 31 March. However, for example in cases of serious threats to the security or health of the residents living in informal settlements evictions can as well be carried out during the winter period. Local Governments and Prefectures have relied on these legal dispositions, and reportedly during the winter period of 2017-18 over 1,800 persons were evicted from informal settlements.
Under international human rights law evictions are only justifiable after all feasible alternatives to the eviction been explored, after residents have been consulted, and once alternative accommodation in proximity to the existing settlements has been offered or secured. Evictions into homelessness are strictly prohibited under international law and a severe violation of the right to adequate housing and other human rights, such as the right to health and security of the person.
6. Calais
Addressing the status of migrants and refugees in Calais is beyond the scope of my mandate and not the intention of this statement. Though the housing conditions of this population are not necessarily representative of all migrants in France, their housing conditions are dire, particularly their experiences of repeated forced evictions and deserve particular attention..
In Hauts de France and in particular in the areas of Calais and Grande-Synthe an estimated 600 to 700 migrants and refugees are currently living in homelessness in tents and small encampments, in harsh conditions with extremely limited access to emergency shelter. For example, in Calais the only emergency shelter in this city, a gymnasium, was open for just 20 days between 1 November 2018 and 31 March 2019, when night temperatures where expected to be below 2° of Celsius.
Since the spring of 2017 a deliberate and systematic policy has been implemented of regularly evicting persons camping on privately owned grounds and in public places like roads, and under bridges. From 1 January to 31 March 2019 over 200 evictions of encampments were documented by local human rights organisations. These evictions usually take place in the morning with no advance notice provided to residents. Occasionally tear gas has been employed against residents during the evictions. Some witnesses I interviewed told me that they are being evicted every 48 hours. They also reported that they are not permitted to go back to their tents to retrieve them or to collect personal belongings. In fact, tents, sleeping bags and personal items are often destroyed or confiscated.
Those evicted from their encampments in Calais are offered no proximate alternative housing solutions. The systematic nature of repeated evictions by police forces is a source of extreme stress, anxiety and sleep deprivation – on a population that is already traumatized. Alternative accommodation in reception centers for migrants and asylum seekers is only available more than 75 km from Calais. The National Human Rights Defender (Defenseur des Droits) and the National Consultative Commission for Human Rights (CNCDH) as well as several international human rights organizations have raised serious concerns about these evictions and the living conditions of residents of the informal settlements in and around Calais.
