Migrant crisis sees 200 women and children huddled under tarpaulin by Paris town hall

Around 200 migrants awaiting housing in Francehave spent the past seven days camped outside Paris City Hall. Mostly women, children and families have gathered on the square in front of the building, next to the Seine, as part of a protest organized by a French-based humanitarian association, according to reports.

Utopia 56 reportedly said it wants the migrants to receive shelter, while also condemning the "increasingly aggressive" expulsions taking place in France since last year's Olympic Games. It is said almost half of the people gathered outside the building (90) are children, with a third of them under the age of three. Nathan Lequeux, coordinator of Utopia 56's Parisbranch, said the association is prepared to continue the protest.

He told InfoMigrantslast week: "We will not move until a lasting solution is found."

Protestors remained outside the building in the heart of the French capital on Monday.

Humanitarian medical association Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, shared images of migrants under makeshift shelters made out of blue tarpaulin.

The charity said it had been carrying out medical checks amid searing temperatures in Paris and called for the migrants to receive accommodation.

"For nearly a week, more than 200 people have been surviving in a makeshift camp in front of the city hall in Paris. Our teams organised medical consultations this morning," its French account said on X.

"The people are exhausted, suffering from the heat, and several children have fevers.

"Decent housing is a minimum prerequisite to ensure the physical and mental health of these families, these children, and these unaccompanied minor girls. These individuals are extremely vulnerable. They must be sheltered urgently."

One married couple had been living on the streets for a month with their four-month-old daughter, the French news agency AFP reported.

Mr Lequeux told InfoMigrants: "We've had more and more single women in recent months, sometimes between 70 and 90 per evening. Now, it's mostly families."

"The numbers fluctuate," he added.

A Paris City Hall spokesperson said last week it continues to open "centres in both summer and winter to shelter people and their families"

According to the MailOnline, the City Hall added on Tuesday evening: In total, more than 1,000 people under state care are currently sheltering in converted municipal facilities or gymnasiums, in addition to the care of more than 3,000 people with families."