• French police forces spray tear gas as they evacuate migrants from a makeshift migrant camp. EPA
    French police forces spray tear gas as they evacuate migrants from a makeshift migrant camp. EPA
  • Migrants pack their few belongings before the forced evacuations to one of 26 accommodation centres. EPA
    Migrants pack their few belongings before the forced evacuations to one of 26 accommodation centres. EPA
  • Paris police prefect Didier Lallement. 'This operation aims to ensure that people with the right to be here are given shelter and those who do not have that right do not remain on French territory.' EPA
    Paris police prefect Didier Lallement. 'This operation aims to ensure that people with the right to be here are given shelter and those who do not have that right do not remain on French territory.' EPA
  • Many waited for hours to be put on the evacutaion buses. EPA
    Many waited for hours to be put on the evacutaion buses. EPA
  • French forces dismantling the camp evacuated about 2,500 people. EPA
    French forces dismantling the camp evacuated about 2,500 people. EPA
  • The camp was under the A1 highway in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, and near to the Stade de France. EPA
    The camp was under the A1 highway in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, and near to the Stade de France. EPA

Europe

French police demolish migrant camp in Paris and move on 2,000 people

Most were asylum seekers from conflict zones, including Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan

Simon Rushton
Simon Rushton

November 17, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

About 2,000 migrants living under a flyover in Paris were cleared from their makeshift camp by police.

Officers launched a raid on Tuesday to tear down the campsite, sparking panic among its residents.
Asylum seekers, including women and children, were led on to 70 buses to be ferried to accommodation centres. But when a crush to board the vehicles ensued, police fired tear gas into the crowd.
One French human rights group said the operation was part of an "endless and destructive cycle" that did nothing to help the people in need.
The camp, a mass of tents and improvised shelters made of plastic sheeting and cardboard boxes, was built under the A1 motorway, close to the national sports stadium, the Stade de France.
Philippe Caro, a volunteer with Solidarite Migrants Wilson, a group that helps people at the camp, said the alternative accommodation being offered was largely inadequate.

"In spite of everything, there are going to be people left out on the street," he said. The people at the camp were predominantly asylum seekers from conflict zones, including Afghanistan, Somalia, and Sudan.
Representatives of non-government organisations that work with the migrants said there were at least 2,000 people at the site.
Several hours after the raid started, hundreds were still waiting to board buses.
"These camps are not acceptable," said Paris police prefect Didier Lallement. "This operation aims to ensure that people with the right to be here are given shelter and those who do not have that right do not remain on French territory."
Police said their objective was the health and safety of the people at the camp, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic, and insisted those moved on from the site would be offered alternative accommodation.
France has joined other European countries, among them Italy, Britain and Sweden, in taking a tougher approach on migration since the outbreak of the Syria conflict in 2011 triggered a migrant crisis across Europe.
Some French opinion polls show that voters are worried about the issue, driving support for far-right leader Marine Le Pen, likely to be Emmanuel Macron's main opponent in the next presidential election in 2022.
France is in the middle of a second national lockdown to tackle rising cases of coronavirus, and has about 33,500 people in hospital with Covid-19, of whom nearly 5,000 are receiving intensive care.

While you're here

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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