Thiverval-Grignon Castle is preparing to welcome new residents. The building in the department of Yvelines will accommodate 195 migrants, most of whom come from East Africa. The new residents had fled their country for Mayotte. They will be looked after by volunteers from the Red Cross and social workers from Emmaus, reports Le Parisien.
These migrants will stay at Thiverval-Grignon Castle until mid-March. At the end of this period, they will be transferred to accommodation centres in the province. However, this decision, which was imposed by the prefecture “without any possibility of negotiation”, is not to the liking of all residents of the municipality. The mayor of Thiverval-Grignon is particularly surprised by “the suddenness and urgency of this request”, although “the situation in Mayotte is not new”. The mayor wrote to her citizens to warn them and reassure them that she would endeavour to “guarantee the well-being and safety of the people”.
This is not the first time that Thiverval-Grignon Castle has been converted into a refugee reception centre. In 2022, the property, which belongs to the state, took in 62 people with no fixed abode or “in a complicated rental situation”. These homeless people included migrants with children in particular. Éric Zemmour’s Reconquête! party had condemned the measure and organised a protest meeting.
Yvelines : 200 réfugiés africains arrivés de Mayotte hébergés dans un château – Valeurs actuelles