Dozens of desperate migrant families have set up a makeshift camp outside Paris City Hall, with adults and children alike forced to sleep on the pavement beneath flimsy tarpaulin sheets. The shocking scenes highlight France's deepening accommodation crisis for asylum seekers.
Photographs from the scene show rows of thin mattresses laid directly on concrete, with plastic sheeting strung between railings as makeshift shelters. Belongings are piled in shopping trolleys and bags, while children's toys sit abandoned beside sleeping areas.
A City's Shame: Families in Makeshift Shelters
"We have nowhere else to go," one mother told reporters, cradling her toddler. "Every night we hope this will be our last sleeping outside, but the waiting list for housing is so long."
The camp has grown rapidly in recent weeks as Paris's existing migrant centres reach breaking point. Charity workers distribute food and water daily, but warn the situation is becoming "untenable" as winter approaches.
Political Backlash Grows
Local officials have condemned the camp's existence just metres from the seat of Parisian government. "This is unacceptable in a civilised society," said one councillor, though no immediate solution has been proposed.
The French capital has seen repeated migrant camps emerge and be cleared in recent years, with each dispersal simply shifting the problem to new locations. Housing charities estimate at least 3,000 migrants sleep rough in Paris nightly.
Children Bear the Brunt
Most distressing are the images of young children attempting to play and sleep in the grim conditions. Teachers report migrant children arriving at school exhausted after nights spent on concrete.
"These are not living conditions, these are survival conditions," said a Médecins Sans Frontières nurse treating camp residents for respiratory infections and skin conditions.
As political debates rage about immigration policy across Europe, the human cost continues to mount on Paris's streets - with no end in sight to this humanitarian crisis.
