A Paris theater could go bankrupt after over 250 migrant youths took it over following a December event promoting tolerance of migrants, according to multiple reports.
The Parc de Belleville youth collective began its occupation of the Gaîté Lyrique theater Dec. 10, with the migrants demanding housing, RFI reported. The theater, which is known for supporting left-wing causes, hosted a conference on welcoming refugees Dec. 10, during which the migrants entered the building and later refused to leave, according to GB News.
“We are here to claim our right to housing, health, and education,” Précieux, who claimed to be a 16-year-old Congolese migrant said in December, according to RFI.
The number of people occupying the theater has grown over the past month, and the management has complained about unsanitary conditions at the venue due to the migrant takeover.
“The Gaîté Lyrique regrets the sudden and forced nature of this occupation, but recalls the legitimacy of the collective’s demand to obtain a roof for these, now, 300 people,” the theater said in a statement released Saturday. “While the number of young people sleeping at the Gaîté Lyrique continues to increase, the sanitary conditions are deteriorating day after day and the teams are facing this situation alone. Although this occupation is forced, it is unthinkable for the Gaîté Lyrique to throw these people out onto the street in the middle of winter.”
The theater has demanded the city provide housing for the migrant youths in multiple statements since the Dec. 10 takeover.
“The Gaîté Lyrique regrets the sudden and forced nature of this occupation, but recalls the legitimate nature of the collective’s demand to obtain a roof for these 250 people,” the theater said in a Dec. 17 statement announcing the indefinite postponement of events at the location due to the occupation. “We strongly denounce the inaction and the inability to dialogue between the services of the City of Paris and those of the State. This inaction clearly endangers the people housed and the teams who are facing the situation alone, without any timetable for resolution, while in no case is the Gaîté Lyrique competent and does not have the spaces and sanitary means to offer an accommodation solution to these people, with respect and human dignity.”
“However, in the absence of any concrete rehousing proposal from the City of Paris or the State, it is unthinkable, at the risk of putting them in danger, to throw these people back onto the street in the middle of December, when temperatures are around 0°. Should we wait for the situation to deteriorate further, or for there to be victims, for this inaction by the competent and responsible authorities to cease?” The statement continued. “La Gaîté Lyrique urges the City of Paris to find a rehousing solution for these 250 young people without delay, regardless of the State’s position.”
The migrants were directed to the theater by activists who reportedly were “more left-wing” than the theater’s management, which routinely hosted radical and leftist programming, GB News reported.
“Even though we no longer sleep in the cold, staying here all the time is a bit boring,” Alhassane, a Guinean migrant who claimed to be 15 years old told RFI.
The theater, owned by Paris’ council, has cancelled events through Jan. 24 due to the occupation and is reportedly threatened with bankruptcy while struggling to pay wages for its 60 employees, Arts Professional reported.
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