This car park, made available to the Utopia 56 association by an individual, serves as a dormitory for around 70 migrants. They share the 40 tents on the platform.
Among these men and women is Angèle. 8 months pregnant, her baby could well be born in this parking lot. But the 29-year-old Ivorian says she has no choice, especially in this winter season.
“It’s the best place anyway. They save us a lot. Here, they save us a lot. Without them, we really wouldn’t know what to do. They also help us a lot,” says Angèle.
Khadija Kone, from Côte d’Ivoire agrees. “We have to, rather than sleeping outside because we don’t know where we’re going, we don’t have parents here, so we have to sleep outside, we don’t have a house, parents here, nothing. We left our families behind in Côte d’Ivoire to come here, we have no family here.”
The director of the French Office for Immigration and Integration said that “75% of asylum seekers are sheltered”, including 1,800 people “directed to the region each month”.