On Tuesday September 22nd, a new judgment was handed down at the Administrative Court of Lyon. Even if there are few evidence, the City of Saint-Etienne is claiming a housing project with a ground-floor business carried by Inovy, a project carrying company. The court handed down its decision on Thursday September 24 with the order to leave the premises and the possibility of immediate eviction by the police. The residents are, as of today, in permanent risk of being thrown out onto the street without accommodation.
About forty people are currently living in the squat of the former post office, including school children, people in poor health and people undergoing training. A majority are in the process of applying for asylum. The mayor of Saint-Etienne and his team, in response to questions put to the municipal council on 21/09/2020 , have again and again abdicated their responsibilities on the back of the State and have taken it upon themselves to throw the inhabitants of the former post office out onto the streets.
At a time when the government is announcing that the Loire departement is going into a reinforced alert zone and the hospital into a white plan for the Covid-19, it would be absurd and unconscious to throw the inhabitants of the former post office out into the street when more restrictive sanitary measures have just been applied. The danger is to expose the inhabitants of the squat and the population of the city of Saint-Etienne to pandemic risks and thus risk damaging the health of all. In addition, the weather forecast is deteriorating in the coming days with nights predicted to be around 4 degrees and rainfall.
We remind you that Saint-Etienne is full of empty buildings that can be used immediately, in the public as well as in the private sector. It is the duty of the prefecture to requisition these buildings for shelter. The Red Cross and civil security must be mobilized in addition to the provision of accommodation solutions.
In an article published on France Bleue on August 24, the new Prefect of the Loire, Catherine Séguin, announced that the 3 priority areas of her action would be the field, contact and dialogue. Solidarity collectives and associations are therefore ready to participate in the construction of solutions.
To date, on 24/09/2020, a request for a meeting as soon as possible has been made to the Prefecture of the Loire in order to discuss, in a constructive dialogue, the implementation of solutions prior to the decision to leave the premises by the current occupiers.
On the citizens’ side, we call for a strong mobilization in the face of this decision:
– a presence on the spot now and for the days to come in case of eviction,
– All forms of assistance are welcome (logistics to move personal belongings, sheltering people, help with administrative and care procedures, etc.),
– organize actions so that these people are not forgotten and are supported.
BE READY TO REACT IN CASE OF EVICTION
A permanence will be held on site 24/24 we are looking for accommodation for the most fragile people.
SPREAD THE WORD!
Collectif des solidaires et voisin-es de Solaure, Collectif des occupant-es de la bourse du travail,
Contact us :
solidaires-solaure [at] protonmail [dot] com
(+33) 7.53.51.22.24
Signatories : Collectif « Pour que personne ne dorme à la rue », Groupe local La Cimade Saint-Étienne, Emmaüs, Ligue des Droits de l’Homme Saint-Étienne.
Squat of the former post office of Solaure
7 Place Paul-Louis Courier, 42100 Saint-Étienne, France
https://squ.at/r/7w7z
Refugees related groups in France https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/FR/topic/sans-papiers
Some squats in France: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/FR/squated/squat
Groups (collectives, social centres, squats) in France: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/FR
Events in France: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/FR
Numéro Zéro https://lenumerozero.info/Expulsion-imminente-du-squat-de-la-poste-de-Solaure-4942
