---
title: "Police evict hundreds of migrants who had been squatting in Paris theatre"
description: "French police evicted more than 400 migrants on Tuesday who had been squatting inside the Gaite Lyrique theatre in central Paris for more than three months."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-18-police-evict-hundreds-of-migrants-who-had-been-squatting-in-paris-theatre/"
published: "2025-03-18T12:02:00"
updated: "2025-03-18T12:02:02"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 236
---

# Police evict hundreds of migrants who had been squatting in Paris theatre

> French police evicted more than 400 migrants on Tuesday who had been squatting inside the Gaite Lyrique theatre in central Paris for more than three months.

By Reuters · Published 18 March 2025, 14:02 SAST · Updated 18 March 2025, 14:02 SAST

## Key points
- In a dramatic pre-dawn ballet, Paris police tangoed with hundreds of protesting migrants at the Gaite Lyrique, where cries for shelter clashed with the city's eviction orders, proving once again that the only thing colder than winter nights is bureaucratic indifference.
- Police launched an early morning operation to evacuate hundreds of migrants protesting eviction from the Gaite Lyrique theatre in Paris.
- The venue had been occupied since December 10, with migrants, including unaccompanied minors, demanding shelter.
- Demonstrators chanted in solidarity, criticizing authorities for failing to provide sustainable housing options.
- Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo stated the evacuation was necessary due to escalating tensions, assuring that emergency housing was offered to the migrants.

## Content

Officers began their operation shortly before 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) at the theatre, where hundreds of demonstrators had gathered to protest against the eviction.

Since December 10, the migrants, including many unaccompanied minors, had occupied the concert and arts venue as part of their demands for shelter, leading the Gaite Lyrique management to suspend its operations on December 17.

A large banner on the Gaite Lyrique read: "400 lives at risk, 80 jobs under threat."

"Shame, shame, shame to authorities who are at war with isolated minors," demonstrators chanted in front of the theatre in solidarity with the migrants, urging local authorities to provide sustainable housing to them rather than force them out.

Police briefly used tear gas at the start of their operation, but overall the evacuation proceeded without any major incidents or clashes.

"We had nowhere to go, we needed a shelter during the cold winter nights. So we had no choice but to occupy the Gaite Lyrique," said Dialo Aimmedou, who said he was 16 and arrived in France in October 2024.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told France Inter radio on Tuesday that the evacuation had to be done, and that emergency housing had been offered to the migrants.

"At this stage this was the thing to do because the situation was becoming complicated, tense and dangerous inside," she said.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Antony Paone, Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alex Richardson)