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We have received statements from various political parties or movements. In the interest of transparency and information pluralism, we publish them all, even if their opposition is sometimes striking.
Law or fraternity? That is the question in this case.
We will not express ourselves on this subject except to recall the phrase: “If there is enough for one, there is enough for two … only there is less!”
Are we ready to have less to share what we have with those who have nothing? Each one’s answer.
Thursday, December 9, 2010, in the fifth largest city in France, 115 people with asylum seeker status, including about forty children, find themselves in the street following a court decision ordering an eviction for illegal occupation of premises.
It is necessary to specify that this eviction was made possible by a concerted action of the Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, the President of the General Council, and the Mayor of Nice.
We are led to believe that it is simply about enforcing a court decision. What is not said is that there are 115 people, including 49 children, and it is the middle of December.
And yet, it happens here, in France, the country of human rights and the former “land of asylum”.
The truth is that the State has not been able to offer housing to these families despite 17 court rulings.
The truth is that the application of the law is restrictive when it applies to ordinary people, but not when it applies to the State itself.
Also, the Socialist Party is outraged by the inhumane decision to leave 13 families and around fifty single asylum seekers on the street who will sleep on the streets of Nice tonight.
Today in Nice, the republic is no longer welcome.
“Any society that claims to ensure freedom for men must begin by guaranteeing their existence.” — Léon BLUM
Patrick Allemand, First Secretary of the Socialist Party of the Alpes-Maritimes
The Court is right to uphold the Law!
The Association Liberté Chérie Nice Côte d’Azur, spokesperson for the taxpayers of the Azure Coast, approves the decision of the Nice District Court to expel the 115 asylum seekers who illegally occupy a building belonging to the CHU. Let us not forget that Article 17 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen considers that: “Property is an inviolable and sacred right”.
The Association Liberté Chérie Nice Côte d’Azur also congratulates the firm and sensible position of Eric Ciotti, the President of the General Council, when he reminds us that the first duty of a person wishing to live in France is to “respect the law”.
The problem is that those who come to France often forget that they have duties.
How can we be surprised when even in the “Asylum Seeker’s Guide” (posted on www.immigration.gouv.fr), while an entire section is dedicated to the “rights” an applicant may claim, there is no mention of the duties!
How can we be surprised when we know all the benefits granted to illegal immigrants residing in France. Let’s mention State Medical Aid, entirely financed by the French taxpayer, which amounted to 546 million euros in 2009!
Liberté Chérie Nice Côte d’Azur therefore supports the court’s decision and denounces all those who, like the Enfants de Dom Quichotte and their local leader, exploit human misery, use quasi-terrorist methods and media blackmail operations in the name of an extreme left and anti-capitalist political ideology.
Liberté Chérie is an activist and independent association of any movement or political party, receiving no public subsidies.
Liberté Chérie
What a shame!
We could not believe that such an infamy would be possible nowadays and in our country, whose motto remains, must we remind it, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”.
These words should be written in the red of shame on the foreheads of those who did not hesitate, as winter comes, to expel by force 120 asylum seekers (including families with about forty children and babies), thus throwing them onto the pavement and into the cold. We called for common sense and decency so that the representative of the State in the department takes the time and means to ensure the shelter that these asylum seekers are entitled to and to work for that with the supporting associations.
Our country must have fallen far for it to wallow in such arbitrary brutality and the international disgrace that will inevitably be raised by methods that take us back to the darkest hours of our contemporary history.
How far will our country be singled out in all international forums before this rush into indignity finally ceases?
For while the issue of the right to housing for all these asylum seekers persists, the State and its local representative will have to provide an answer.
Unless it is considered that the word of the current French State no longer has any value and that it is indifferent to the international convictions its attitude provokes.
Noël ALBIN – Francis TUJAGUE – Jacques VICTOR
Communist General Councilors of the Alpes_Maritimes
“As the Mayor of Nice and President of the Supervisory Board of the CHU of Nice, I condemned, on November 7, the illegal occupation of a downtown building owned by the CHU of Nice, carried out by several associations. I then requested that legal proceedings be initiated to allow the evacuation of the occupants without rights or title, from this building.
This morning, the State services proceeded with the expulsion of a hundred of these asylum seekers, as the Nice District Court ordered the expulsion on Monday, December 6, 2010.
The decision of the Nice District Court and the action of the police forces carried out today thus put an end to the illegal and dangerous occupation, for over a month, of this unsanitary building.
In a state of law, I can only welcome the respect of the rules and laws of our country.”
Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, President of Nice Côte d’Azur.
“Following the decision of the District Court, the police forces proceeded this morning to the expulsion of the asylum seekers occupying illegally a building in downtown Nice.
I want to congratulate the Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Francis Lamy, for successfully conducting this expulsion that puts an end to over a month of illegal and dangerous occupation in an unsanitary building.
From the beginning of this illegal occupation, I condemned and denounced the attitude of asylum seekers who come to ask for asylum in our country and who do not hesitate to violate the laws of the Republic, as well as the attitude of associations that exploit misery for political purposes and manipulate these asylum seekers.
I want to remind that when one wants to settle in a country, before asking for rights, one must express duties towards the Republic. The first of these duties is to respect the law.
France is very generous with asylum seekers. Many reception centers exist and financial aid is provided to applicants.
The département of the Alpes-Maritimes, due to its geographical situation, is a gateway for many asylum seekers and does not have the capacity to house all these people.
Eric Ciotti , Deputy, President of the General Council of the A-M
ALL TOGETHER ALONGSIDE THE ASYLUM SEEKERS AND THEIR CHILDREN!
The Alternatives of the Alpes-Maritimes join the protest movement against the shameful expulsion that occurred this morning at dawn of asylum seekers and their children who occupied a vacant building of the CHU while waiting for their regularization and decent housing that the authorities owe them, in accordance with the laws of the Republic.
After several appalling police aggressions that occurred in this building since its occupation by families, this expulsion is first and foremost an additional breach of republican laws, but it is also an additional element in the escalation towards the establishment of an authoritarian and police state, despising the right of asylum and human rights, under the encouragement and applause of the far-right and nostalgics of Pétainism and fascism.
Against the establishment of this authoritarian and police state, the Alternatives promote active and citizen solidarity, the unwavering defense of rights and freedoms, and they call for the gathering of citizen and associative, trade union, and political forces.
This gathering had already manifested in support of the peaceful occupation of the “Maison Grise” building: all together, let’s continue this gathering, in the streets, Saturday, December 11, 2 PM, Place Masséna in Nice!
THE ALTERNATIVES
Evacuation of the squat rue Clémenceau: a first victory.
After more than a month of occupation, the police proceeded this morning with the evacuation of the squat occupied by asylum seekers and illegal immigrants on rue Clémenceau. This evacuation follows the decision rendered Monday by the Nice District Court.
On November 12, Nissa Rebela demonstrated in front of this squat, drawing the public’s attention to this delirious situation (immigrants demanding French nationality while constantly breaking the law!) and demanding a concrete reaction from the authorities.
There is no doubt that the mobilization of the identitaires on the ground — through this gathering but also the contacts established with the shopkeepers and neighbors of the district — has weighed in the reaction of the State and the judiciary. Without this, everyone would have been happy to let the situation continue…
The identitaires now demand:
— the expulsion of all these immigrants who have voluntarily broken with the law of the country they request to welcome them
— exemplary prosecutions against all associations that encourage and contribute to the commission of offenses, and the cessation of all public subsidies.
Stop passivity, stop complicity.
NISSA REBELA
Asylum seekers: Call to the Prefect and the director of the CHU
“Something dramatic is likely to happen in the coming hours in our city of Nice at 1, avenue Georges Clemenceau. Many of you are certainly aware of this situation, so I will spare you the details. Otherwise, it is useful to recall the different episodes of this matter… These are asylum seekers, I say asylum seekers, not undocumented migrants. They are therefore legally on national territory, protected by an international convention, and their files, to possibly become political refugees, are being processed. During this processing time, they are forbidden from working, so they are virtually without resources. In return, the State is required to house them. Which the Prefect does not do! He has been condemned by a court decision, and the State is condemned to pay 500 euros a day. Unable for the Prefect to fulfill his obligations, due to financial means not allocated by the State, the associations have taken over an unused building for 5 years owned by the CHU of Nice, located at 1 avenue Georges Clémenceau. The asylum seekers do not disturb anyone and could have spent the winter there waiting for their files to be settled, one way or another. Instead, this same prefect who takes no account of judgments made towards him, along with Messrs. Ciotti and Estrosi, demanded that the general director of the CHU file a complaint for illegal occupation of a building. A few days ago we witnessed two astounding events.
A demonstration by the identitaires, a far-right group that even scares FN militants, was authorized in front of the building. Fortunately, no incidents occurred, but it could not have been done otherwise if wanted there to be any.
One morning at 6 AM, a large identity check operation was launched by the police. They forced the entrance door of the building with a grinder, broke down several doors inside with a dreadful noise with 49 terrified children inside. Yesterday, the court delivered its judgment and authorized the evacuation of the building. They are ordered to pay 80 euros per day. They will probably wait for the Prefect to pay his own penalty to pay theirs! Now a sword of Damocles hangs over their heads and a violent eviction can occur at any moment. What will we do with all these families in the current cold? This question interests no one… although they are in legal standing on the territory. How to trust our rule of law when court decisions are no longer executed, and the justice system doesn’t seem to have the means to enforce them? Especially when the State itself, guarantor of the functioning of our institutions, frees itself from them. All this would remain just a case study for students to analyze if there weren’t human beings behind it. After the Roma this summer, now in winter, come the asylum seekers. As the Christmas holidays approach, I don’t want these children to have a nightmarish memory of Christmas 2010. Any humanist, beyond their political affiliation, must mobilize to find a solution. In the meantime, it is necessary to ask the general director of the CHU and the Prefect to refrain from granting police force. This is the meaning of the appeal I am making, notably to the Prefect tonight.”
Patrick Allemand, 1st Vice-president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region
Statement of the Europe Ecologie-Les Verts elected officials of the Regional Council.
The Prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes has been regularly condemned by the Administrative Court for failure to fulfill its obligations towards persons seeking political asylum, both in terms of file processing times and providing decent, even emergency, accommodation.
A new threshold has been crossed in these denials of justice, with the eviction without rehousing, in the middle of the winter break, of families with children who had found refuge in a vacant building in downtown Nice.
Why do the State services not at least respect the Law not to mention the most elementary humanist concerns… a right to housing, especially for children, in the middle of winter?
For reference, the EELV-POc elected officials have already intervened several times to remind that asylum seekers are not “undocumented”, but are protected both by international agreements and by the French Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It would seem normal for the State, which constantly stresses the importance of upholding republican laws, to be irreproachable in this regard.
The EELV-POc group does not comment on the context that led the CHU of Nice, owners of the premises, to initiate proceedings nor on the reasons given by the Administrative Court for delivering its judgment.
But the group has noted that these decisions rely on a municipal decree and a state assessment carried out by the City services and reserves the right to question the Mayor of Nice for public communication of this decree, as well as all supporting documents.
Nevertheless, the EELV-POc group reminds Mr. Lamy, Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, that there is in France a Social Action and Families Code which obliges him.
Article L345-2-2 of this code defines “unconditional welcome” of people. It states that “any person without shelter in a situation of medical, psychological, and social distress has access at any time to an emergency accommodation system”.
Article L111-2 prohibits any discrimination, particularly related to nationality. The Federation of Reception and Insertion Associations, which oversees 95% of emergency accommodation centers in France, has emphasized in this respect that foreigners should not serve as an “adjustment variable”.
The EELV-POc elected officials refer Mr. Prefect to the recent statements of Mr. Benoist Apparu, Secretary of State, dated November 29, 2010, announcing that a “winter” circular would be sent “by the end of the week” to all prefectures. This text notably recalls the principle of “unconditional welcome” in emergency accommodation centers. But perhaps this statement was merely an announcement effect?
In that case, Mr. Prefect will find material and protection in the position of the Head of State himself in November 2007 before the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese), during the World Day of the Fight Against Poverty: “When someone is on the street, we do not ask for their papers” at the entrance of accommodation centers, pronounced Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, in full agreement with the principle of unconditional welcome.
Keen not to politicize a debate that should not even take place, the EELV/POc group remains firm in the defense of these fundamental freedoms and in its support for the associations and citizens involved.
It does not preclude any legal recourse that may become possible and necessary in the unfortunate event that no accommodation solution is immediately offered to families.
Emma Chamard
Communication officer
of Europe Ecologie / les Verts / Poc elected officials
of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Council
Statement from Liberté Chérie Nice Côte d’Azur
A liberal and militant association
Expulsion of asylum seekers from the CHU squat of Nice:
No! “A roof is not a right”! Yes! “France already pays too much!”
Yesterday, following the decision of the Nice District Court, the 115 persons illegally occupying a building belonging to the CHU were evicted. The activists of the “Asile” association collective demonstrated in front of the building chanting the slogan: “A roof is a right, the prefect breaks the law!”.
We, as spokespersons for taxpayers, believe that No! “A roof is not a right!”.
Indeed, although everyone has the right to seek housing, it is not an automatic right, a “right to” that the public power should necessarily grant!
And what applies to a French national should also be valid for a foreigner.
Moreover, taxpayers already pay enough every year for asylum seekers and for foreigners in irregular situation:
— In the report established by Deputy Marie-Hélène des Egaux for the finance commission of 2004, the cumulative cost of the asylum request for the State represented a minimum of 900 million euros or, based on 60,000 applicants, 15,000 euros per applicant!
— As for State Medical Aid (AME), reserved for migrants in irregular situation justifying a 3-month presence on French territory and declared resources lower than 600 euros per month, it now concerns 192,000 people for expenditures noted in 2009 of 490 million euros!
In total, according to a study by Jean-Paul Gourévitch, international expert in human sciences and migration specialist, the annual expenditure of the State’s migration policy amounts to 79.4 billion euros for immigration.
Liberté Chérie Nice Côte d’Azur wishes that the Azuréans, but also all our fellow citizens, open their eyes and are not misled by some “professionals of misery”: No! France has nothing to reproach itself in terms of generosity!
