Saint-Lys asks the State to review its plans
In Saint-Lys (west of Toulouse), a project for a center preparing for the return of migrants is controversial. The PS mayor of the town opposes its establishment in the state and calls on the inhabitants to come together this September 30 to defend an alternative project.
For the mayor of Saint-Lys, this “project imposed by the State” do not pass. In this town to the west of Toulouse, the State wishes to set up a return preparation center (CPAR), which aims to welcome 120 asylum seekers whose files have been rejected and who say they are voluntary returnees. to their country of origin.
The mayor of the town Serge Deuilhé believes that “this project is disproportionate and incompatible with the specificities and capacities of the territorywhile defining thatthere is no question for the municipality to oppose the reception of migrants“. The elected socialist calls on the inhabitants to gather this Friday, September 30 at 6 p.m. in the parking lot of the Tabarly school to say no to this center.
The reception center would replace the current Ehpad “Joie de vivre”, whose operator must move to a new structure at the end of 2022.
In a press release, Mayor Serge Deuilhé affirms his “fidelity to the humanist values of helping and caring for oppressed populations“However, he opposes the opening of the reception center in his town.”We have a lot of questions from the Saint-Lysiens and Saint-Lysiennes. The unknown can be scary, and we think everyone will be reassured if the prefecture provides answers on the installation and management of the center. This is why we have been asking for a public meeting for several months, with no response.», Regrets Médélys Oberti, assistant to the mayor’s cabinet.
As mayor of Saint-Lys, I tried for several months to start a dialogue with the State services to find a compromise acceptable to all. Faced with this manifest refusal to consult with the town hall and the actors concerned, it is therefore as a representative of the Saint-Lysienne population that I am completely opposed to this project. Let’s mobilize!
Serge Deuilhé, mayor of Saint-Lys
“We are concerned about the reception conditions for these people, adds the mayor’s collaborator. We are talking about families who will be locked up in a center far from the city center, the children not attending school. We have proposed an alternative project of social mix, which consists of distributing migrant families in other accommodation, among the inhabitants, to promote their integration and their well-being. But without success with the prefecture.“
Faced with these criticisms, the prefecture of Haute-Garonne, in charge of the project, specifies that “the outline of this project has given rise to numerous exchange meetings since June 2021 between the State services, the French Office for Immigration and Integration, the operator Adoma and the town hall of Saint- lily.“Following these exchanges, the number of places of reception was increased from 160 to 120, that is to say about thirty families.
The State services also underline the fact that currently, people who have exhausted their rights of residence in France are housed in Haute-Garonne in distributed apartments, which in 2023 will no longer be intended to be housing. The CPAR of Saint-Lys would aim to prepare for their return: obtaining the consular pass, booking plane tickets etc…
These publics will have no impact on the public services of the host municipality since the duration of the stays linked to obtaining consular passes and transport tickets is spread over a period of 15 days to 1 month on average. Indeed, during this short period, the children are not in school, the people housed benefit from service tickets to be used in nearby shops for their meals as well as transport tickets.
Prefecture of Haute Garonne
As for the inhabitants of Saint-Lys, the town hall claims to have received many questions and concerns from them on the subject since the beginning of the year. It remains to be seen whether many will mobilize this Friday, September 30.