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Judges say a Church-run reception center for young migrants in Calais on the Strait of Dover is unnecessary since there are other places available in the area.
By Christophe Henning | France
It has been a recurring issue.
Local communities are unable to manage the influx of migrants who end up in Calais since they are unable to reach England, so charities and humanitarian organizations pitch in to help the stranded migrants, especially children who are on their own.
This has brought them into conflict with authorities in the northern French city. For instance, there have been several municipal ordinances issued to prohibit the distribution of food and drink in certain parts of town.
And on March 1 the city ordered a Church-run center for migrants called "La Crèche" to be closed within 48 hours.
The center was run by Secours Catholique (Caritas France) in a parish building owned by the local Diocese of Arras.
About fifteen migrants, mostly minors from Sudan, had been living at the center since the beginning of December.
But city officials said it had to be closed because "the safety of the people was not assured in case of fire".
"The safety, dignity and protection of people are obviously our priority," explained Juliette Delaplace, Secours Catholique's project manager for exiles.
"When a shipwreck survivor arrives in the middle of the night, or another one leaves the hospital, are they safer on the street?" she asked.
Barely forty-eight hours after the forced closure, Véronique Fayet, Secours Catholique's national president, and Bishop Olivier Leborgne of Arras, were in Calais.
They were there to meet to complain to city officials about undignified living conditions to which exiles are subjected.
"In France, the rights of pets are better respected than those of migrants," the visibly upset bishop told La Croix.
The parish and Caritas France have contested the legality of the municipal decree closing the refugee center, but that won't go before the court for several months.
In the meantime, an administrative court on April 28 rejected a petition for a temporary suspension of the closure.
The judges considered that there was no urgency to decide upon or to suspend the municipal order.
According to the judges, the closure of La Crèche "was not an obstacle to sheltering [the migrants] in other ways".
They cited two other centers that could accommodate the refugees. One was 75 km from Calais, while the other was 120 km away.
The lawyer representing Caritas and the parish argued that the center posed no danger to the migrants' safety and stressed the temporary nature of the emergency accommodation. He also invoked the principles of fraternity and human dignity.
"This place was simply intended for reception, but in December we had to accommodate people for whom there was no other solution," Juliette Delaplace explained.
"The night of April 27, the day before the hearing, it was still 4°C outside... and people should be left on the street?" she said.
In the end, Secours Catholique closed the center and found private individuals who took in the migrants.
Philippe Demeestère, a Jesuit priest who serves as chaplain to the Caritas agency, took 15 young people into his home. He said he plans to house them until Pentecost.
"The state systems fail to meet all the demands, so that is when we can be useful and united," the priest said.
He pointed out that private associations are more flexible and available and can complement the public structures.
Delaplace said it was extremely disappointing that the administrative court did not recognize the urgency of the situation, even though the people on the street are living in extreme conditions.
She voiced frustration at what she called, "measures to hinder solidarity and fraternity".
"I don't want our advocacy for the fundamental rights of people to be an empty word here in Calais," she said.
As for the use of the building, the decree only concerned overnight accommodation.
"Parish activities will be able to resume without delay," said Charles Callens, director of communications for the Diocese of Arras.
The parish and Secours Catholique are thinking about setting up a daytime office at the location to help migrants, particularly with their administrative procedures.
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