Toulouse: as refugees flee the war, justice orders a family to return to Ukraine
Justice has just notified Anton, his wife and two children, that they must leave France to return to Ukraine. The couple, without papers, had settled in Toulouse after fleeing the war in 2014.
The court decision has not escaped our colleagues from the Canard Enchainé. Four days after the start of the Russian invasion, a Ukrainian family settled in Toulouse learned of the confirmation of their expulsion. A surprising timing to say the least, as millions of Ukrainians are currently fleeing their country in the direction of France and other European countries.
Deaf, they leave their town because they don’t hear the warning sirens
Anton, 36, is from Lugansk, in the pro-Russian separatist zone at war since 2014. His company is from Vinnytsia southwest of Kiev. Both are deaf and had to leave the Luhansk region because they couldn’t hear the warning sirens. Rejected by part of their family, they chose to go to France with their two children, one of whom suffers from congenital kidney disease.
On February 28, the Administrative Court of Appeal of Bordeaux notified the family of their deportation to Ukraine. The expulsion had been requested by the prefecture of Haute-Garonne, then suspended by the administrative court of Toulouse. However, it should be noted that the Bordeaux court made its decision after a hearing on January 24, a month before the start of the war.
“But they still manage to write on February 28 that a Ukrainian can return to his country without risk”, was annoyed Me Julien Brel, the family lawyer, with 20 minutes.