According to a local police source, the people who have occupied Briancon station today are mostly Afghan refugees, mostly young people and some families.
In a statement, authorities in the French department of the Hautes-Alpes said they “have mobilized the necessary funds to maintain public order” and are exploring solutions “for the transport of people who meet the conditions for this.” and “caring for people in vulnerable situations”.
On Sunday, the Refuges Solidaires association, which runs the Terrasses Solidaires refuge center, warned that it had witnessed a large migration flow and that its reception capacity had reached unbearable limits.
“More than 200 people in facilities with a maximum capacity of 80 people,” the humanitarian association said, announcing on the same day that the admission of new people to the refugee center would be completely stopped.
At the same time, the association advocated the need to take action “as soon as possible”, emphasizing, in particular, the involvement of other persons interfering with the reception of refugees in an emergency, in addition to the actions developed by Refuges Solidaires.
Also on Sunday, the association said it knew that about 180 migrants had “crossed the border” on their way to Briançon and were then warned that these people “could not be accepted” at the asylum center and that they would have to continue their journey. to another place.
“This is a matter of dignity and safety, but above all safety,” Jean Gaboriau, administrator and volunteer of the Refuges Solidaires association, explained in a statement to France-Presse (AFP).
Authorities in the French department of the Hautes-Alpes, in turn, said that many of these people who arrived in Briançon are “in a precarious position in terms of the right to stay” because they did not apply for asylum in the first country. entry into Europe, which in many cases was Italy.
The same authorities also indicated that government-provided temporary accommodation opportunities “have increased significantly” in recent years for both asylum seekers and others classified as vulnerable who are entitled “to a general temporary accommodation system. the law within the limits of the available places. “
