The authorities inaugurated, Thursday, February 4 in Paris, the first emergency accommodation center dedicated to young migrants who are waiting for justice to recognize or not their status as unaccompanied foreign minors. These young people, determined to be adults by the Ile-de-France departments, have lodged appeals to assert their minority and obtain support from Social Assistance for Children. Their fate has been the subject of a standoff for several years between Paris, the State and the NGOs which defend them.
Since December 20, 24 of them have been accommodated in the center which was officially inaugurated on Thursday in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. The old office building, which can accommodate 40 people, will be made available by the city of Paris until mid-2022. “We had been asking the State for two years [qui finance le fonctionnement du centre] the opening of suitable places to take care of the most vulnerable young people “ in appeal before a children’s judge, said Dominique Versini, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of child protection, during a visit.
“This is a first and the city of Paris is ready to continue” to open this type of center, she continued. She greeted a “great advance” for those people who otherwise depend on the emergency number 115 for the homeless, often saturated. In 2020, around 5,000 young migrants had their age assessed in Paris, where 30% of them were recognized as minors.
