Charity fined €12k for tent protest

A COURT has fined an association €12,000 for its role in a protest to highlight homelessness in Paris.

The association Droit au Logement DAL was fined €12,000 for more than 300 infractions after they set up bright red tents along the bank of the Seine in 2007.

The figure relates to the number of tents that broke the law by blocking a public right of way.

Around 1,500 homeless people took part in the demonstration, which was copied in other towns around France.

DAL president Jean-Baptiste Eyraud said: “This is the first time that the association DAL has been prosecuted, despite organising hundreds of such camps in its 18-year history.”

He added that the protest had finished after an agreement with the government to look at the law regarding the right to social housing.

“One year later the state has prosecuted the DAL and won. This verdict is unacceptable – we’re going to look at the possibility of appealing,” added Mr Eyraud.

He called for a protest on December 14 to mark the anniversary of the encampment and draw attention to the continuing problem of homelessness.

A statement for the DAL said: “Having failed to discourage these homelessness protests through police repression, the state has tried to financially sink the association which supports them.”

“This verdict could be applied to most of the homeless people in the street,” added the statement.

In another judgment relating to similar protests, the group Les Enfants de Don Quichotte escaped a fine of €1,875 but had its 198 tents confiscated.

The president of Les Enfants de Don Quichotte Jean-Baptiste Legrand said he was surprised by the two completely different outcomes of trials over the same protest.

He said he would look into their own case to see if they could appeal but would act in solidarity with the DAL.

Photo:Aleske