03:15Migrants and activists protested the eviction of a makeshift tent camp near Paris City Hall on Sunday by affixing portraits and pictures of themselves to the ground. This demonstration aimed to highlight what they describe as efforts to 'beautify' the capital in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games.
The protest, organised by the collective Le Revers de la Medaille, was intended to be a peaceful and artistic statement. A spokesperson from the group said, "You can see the [police] deployment. What was obviously bothering them were the banners, so we're going to take them down, there's no problem. We're here for a completely calm and peaceful artistic demonstration. But these are the Olympic Games, so there's a kind of security madness. We hope we can get on with our day. Our only demonstration is a few portraits stuck to the ground, which doesn't seem to pose any particular security issue."
Alice, a co-leader of the movement, emphasised that the protest was focused on the social impact of the Olympics. She explained, “This documents the effects of major exclusion and the social cleansing caused by the organisation of the Olympic Games.” The group has been conducting photo workshops in collaboration with various associations to shed light on these issues.
The practice of using such demonstrations has been seen before in other Olympic host cities, such as Rio de Janeiro in 2016, where it was used to protest similar concerns of migrant evictions.
In a pre-dawn operation, Paris police dismantled the camp, which housed around 100 teenage boys and young men from West Africa. Police cited security reasons and the camp's proximity to schools as factors in their decision to carry out the eviction.
French authorities have denied any link between the evictions and the preparations for the Olympics, insisting that the operation was purely for security and public safety reasons.
'Security madness' - Activists glue portraits on ground to highlight migrant eviction before Olympic Games opening
Migrants and activists protested the eviction of a makeshift tent camp near Paris City Hall on Sunday by affixing portraits and pictures of themselves to the ground. This demonstration aimed to highlight what they describe as efforts to 'beautify' the capital in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games.
The protest, organised by the collective Le Revers de la Medaille, was intended to be a peaceful and artistic statement. A spokesperson from the group said, "You can see the [police] deployment. What was obviously bothering them were the banners, so we're going to take them down, there's no problem. We're here for a completely calm and peaceful artistic demonstration. But these are the Olympic Games, so there's a kind of security madness. We hope we can get on with our day. Our only demonstration is a few portraits stuck to the ground, which doesn't seem to pose any particular security issue."
Alice, a co-leader of the movement, emphasised that the protest was focused on the social impact of the Olympics. She explained, “This documents the effects of major exclusion and the social cleansing caused by the organisation of the Olympic Games.” The group has been conducting photo workshops in collaboration with various associations to shed light on these issues.
The practice of using such demonstrations has been seen before in other Olympic host cities, such as Rio de Janeiro in 2016, where it was used to protest similar concerns of migrant evictions.
In a pre-dawn operation, Paris police dismantled the camp, which housed around 100 teenage boys and young men from West Africa. Police cited security reasons and the camp's proximity to schools as factors in their decision to carry out the eviction.
French authorities have denied any link between the evictions and the preparations for the Olympics, insisting that the operation was purely for security and public safety reasons.
Migrants and activists protested the eviction of a makeshift tent camp near Paris City Hall on Sunday by affixing portraits and pictures of themselves to the ground. This demonstration aimed to highlight what they describe as efforts to 'beautify' the capital in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games.
The protest, organised by the collective Le Revers de la Medaille, was intended to be a peaceful and artistic statement. A spokesperson from the group said, "You can see the [police] deployment. What was obviously bothering them were the banners, so we're going to take them down, there's no problem. We're here for a completely calm and peaceful artistic demonstration. But these are the Olympic Games, so there's a kind of security madness. We hope we can get on with our day. Our only demonstration is a few portraits stuck to the ground, which doesn't seem to pose any particular security issue."
Alice, a co-leader of the movement, emphasised that the protest was focused on the social impact of the Olympics. She explained, “This documents the effects of major exclusion and the social cleansing caused by the organisation of the Olympic Games.” The group has been conducting photo workshops in collaboration with various associations to shed light on these issues.
The practice of using such demonstrations has been seen before in other Olympic host cities, such as Rio de Janeiro in 2016, where it was used to protest similar concerns of migrant evictions.
In a pre-dawn operation, Paris police dismantled the camp, which housed around 100 teenage boys and young men from West Africa. Police cited security reasons and the camp's proximity to schools as factors in their decision to carry out the eviction.
French authorities have denied any link between the evictions and the preparations for the Olympics, insisting that the operation was purely for security and public safety reasons.