The decision to ban food distributions in the North-East of Paris has been rejected by the court. The administrative court of Paris has suspended the decree of the police prefect which was issued on October 9th and prohibited food distributions in several areas of the 10th and 19th arrondissements, as stated in a press release by the court.
The judge of the interim proceedings considers that this measure “creates an urgent situation due to the size of the ban area and the saturation of other food assistance programs, especially when there is no alternative solution”. Since October 10th, food distributions have been prohibited in an area covering nine streets around the Stalingrad and Jaurès metro stations.
According to the police prefecture (PP), it is in this area “where these food distributions, due to their recurrent nature, lead to an increase in the number of beneficiaries and contribute to the formation of camps in the boulevard de la Villette area, where migrants, drug users, and homeless people gather”.
The judge of the interim proceedings considers “that the disturbances to public order invoked by the police prefect to justify the legality of the ban decree have not been demonstrated. She therefore deems that the ban is not necessary to preserve public order”.
After this provisional decision, the court will issue a final ruling in a few months. The association Utopia 56, which had filed a complaint, claims “victory” on its X account and affirms that the food distributions will be able to resume.
