Paris accused of 'social cleansing' before Olympics as hundreds evicted from France's biggest squat

Police have evicted hundreds of people from the biggest squat in France, in a southern suburb of Paris, prompting fresh accusations from charities that authorities are seeking to clear refugees, asylum seekers and homeless people from the capital before the Olympics.

- Angelique Chrisafis

The squat - which was in an abandoned bus company headquarters in Vitry-sur-Seine - had been home to up to 450 people, many of whom had refugee status, legal paperwork and jobs in France but who were unable to find proper housing. As they left the building they were encouraged to board buses to other parts of the country.

The early morning eviction by police in riot gear began just as France celebrated the milestone of 100 days until the start of the Paris Games.

Charities have said the state and authorities want to clear homeless people from the streets and empty the squats to make Paris and its suburbs look better for the games, which begin on 26 July.

Clutching their belongings, 300 people left the squat at Vitry-surSeine calmly as about 250 police and gendarmes arrived. More than 100 others had already left before dawn. Buses waited outside, ready to take people to the central city of Orleans or the south-western city of Bordeaux.

Many of those who had lived in the squat said they did not want to leave the Paris region because they had jobs there. "I want to stay here," said Abakar, 29, from Sudan. He was in Paris to follow a logistics course and had been promised a job in a supermarket.