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Residents In Upscale Paris Neighborhood Oppose Plans For Temporary Homeless Shelter

Angry residents have argued that the site of the proposed shelter encroaches on the Bois de Boulogne park, a national heritage site.
Photo by Etienne Rouillon/VICE News.

Paris city authorities have unveiled plans to build a shelter that will house 200 homeless individuals and migrants in the capital's swanky 16th Arrondissement, much to the dismay of some of the neighborhood's residents.

Officials have until Thursday to vote for or against the project, which would see French charity Aurore erect a temporary facility on a strip of public land in the Bois de Boulogne — one of the city's largest public parks.

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If the initiative is approved by the city council, it will be a first for the capital, which typically repurposes vacant public buildings to create homeless shelters.

The center will consist of five wooden prefab units, which will be positioned along a section of Allée des Fortifications — an alley that is nestled between the Paris ring road and a residential street.

City officials have tasked emergency housing charity Aurore with overseeing the construction of the center and with running the facility if and when it opens.

Related: French Authorities Arrest Three Suspects in Connection to Separate Paris Terror Attacks

The center will provide much-needed accommodation to homeless individuals — including migrants — and to families that are on a waiting list for permanent housing. The center will be run by a staff of 35, including several on-site social workers.

In a statement released in mid-October, city officials said they had chosen the spot because the site was already connected to electricity and to the water mains. The city also highlighted the slow road traffic around the site.

"Furthermore, the site is located in a neighborhood that is lacking in emergency housing options," officials said, adding that the city was working to "spread [shelters] out" across the city, in a spirit of fairness.

The initiative has drawn the ire of some neighborhood residents, who have argued the site is a poor choice for a homeless shelter. One of the groups battling the initiative has published the plans that were filed as part of the building permit application.

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A building permit filed November 13, 2015 has been posted online by a group of angry local residents. The permit outlines the structure and form of the project. When contacted by VICE News, the architects' firm that filed the permit was unable to confirm whether or not these plans were the most up to date. Housing charity Aurore declined to comment on the plans until the council had made public its decision on the project.

Rendering of the shelter included in the building permit application published by local residents' group Association de valorisation du quartier Paris Maillot Dauphine.

An aerial view of the proposed site included in the building permit application published by local residents' group Association de valorisation du quartier Paris Maillot Dauphine.

Setting up camp on the Champs Élysées
"They picked the wrong site," said Lionel Lemaire, the president of the Bois de Boulogne residents' association. "It's the same as if we set up camp on the Champs Élysées roundabout, a site that has no infrastructure and is away from the stores."

Aside from concerns over "plummeting property value" and neighborhood "security," residents are particularly upset over the shelter encroaching on the Bois de Boulogne — a national heritage site since 1957. The park is also listed as a "green urban zone," which means no construction is allowed in the park.

But according to the project leaders, the site of the future shelter is not technically within the limits of the park, but rather, "on the edge of the protected Bois de Boulogne site." Nonsense, say Lemaire and the other residents, who argue that Allée des Fortifications street is located within — not along — the park boundary line.

Claude Goasguen, the center-right mayor of the 16th Arrondissement, launched a petition a few weeks ago against "a Sangatte in the Bois de Boulogne." Thousands of people have allegedly signed the petition, which compares the proposed center to Calais' infamous Sangatte camp that housed thousands of migrants from 1999 to 2002.

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Other residents have called inappropriate the decision to house destitute individuals in one of the city's most upscale neighborhoods. "They're going to put people who have suffered through wars face to face with people who drive cars that are worth millions of euros," one of the locals told French radio station RFI.

Expanding the green area
"The mayor of the 16th Arrondissement says he is protecting the Bois de Boulogne, but what he's really protecting is the concrete that's occupied by the cars people park here for free," said local official Thomas Lauret.

Lauret, a member of France's Socialist party, told VICE News he supported the initiative and would talk it up before the council. He explained that the site had been picked because it was "far away from dwellings." The new building, he promised, would "blend into the landscape."

"Furthermore, once the temporary five-year permit comes to term, we will remove the concrete," he explained. "It's our way of taking into account the opinion of residents: we will expand the green area after having taken part in the collective solidarity [effort]."

In order to build on a national heritage site, the Departmental Commission for Nature, Landscape and Sites (CDNPS) must first approve the project. According to French daily Le Figaro, the CDNPS gave its green light with a narrow majority. If the city council gives its go-ahead, the project will still need to be endorsed by the environment minister.

If all goes to plan, delivery of the prefab units is scheduled for April or May.

Follow Lucie Aubourg on Twitter : @LucieAbrg