More than 200 unaccompanied minors have occupied the Gaîté Lyrique, a cultural establishment in the city of Paris, since Tuesday, December 10. These foreign minors arrive in France, but find themselves on the street. RFI was present at the general meeting organized on Thursday December 12.
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These unaccompanied minors or “ isolated » are not covered by either the State or Paris City Hall, who pass the responsibility on to each other. As soon as they arrive, they are subject to a minority test, which is often rejected.
They then appeal to the courts. The problem is that during the legal proceedings, they have nowhere to stay and cannot go to school either. To no longer sleep on the street, they moved to Gaîté Lyrique, in the center of Paris.
On the first floor of the Gaîté Lyrique on Thursday, December 12, there are several dozen unaccompanied minors present at the general assembly organized by the Belleville Youth Collective. Abdourahmane arrived in France two months ago. “ I am 16 years old, I come from Guinea. We are on the street, we sleep in tents. We are declared as minors, we go to the assessment center, but they don’t do things as expected”he says. That is to say, accommodating the young people while the processing of their appeal for recognition of their minority lasts.
Sleeping on the street for up to six months
Mariam arrived from Guinea-Conakry last September. “ When we give you the hearing in six months, you sleep on the street until six monthssays the 17-year-old. You go to your hearing, we leave you again, you sleep outside! » And so, the minors plan to stay at Gaîté Lyrique until they are housed.
“ They will find the solution for us », hopes one of them. For the moment, no solution is envisaged. The interview that miners from the collective had with Léa Filoche, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of emergency accommodation, who came to meet them on Thursday, yielded nothing. “ For several years, due to the fact that the State has decided not to manage the situation of young people seeking minority recognition, we, as a community, have been left a little abandoned. », Estimates Léa Filoche.
In 2023, more than 19,000 unaccompanied minors were taken into care by the departments.
Also readFrance: the wandering of unaccompanied foreign minors seeking to have their minority recognized