French police evicted scores of migrants, including families with young children, from the forecourt of Paris City Hall on Wednesday, as the city counted down the 100 days until the Olympic Games began.
Police arrived before daybreak to remove approximately 50 individuals, largely mothers and children aged 3 to 10, who were curled up in strollers, under blankets, or covered with plastic sheets to protect against the rain.
The migrants collected their possessions and boarded a bus bound for Besançon, eastern France, where they would stay in temporary government housing.
Aid workers are concerned that the move on Wednesday is the start of a larger campaign by Paris authorities to clear away refugees and others sleeping rough in the city before the Olympic Games, without offering longer-term housing choices.
Olympic officials have stated that they are working with aid organizations to find answers.
Many of the families come from French-speaking African countries like Burkina Faso, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.
Aid organizations such as Utopia 56 have donated food, blankets, and diapers, as well as assisted others in finding temporary housing for a night or two.