Montpellier Faces Backlash Over Planned Shelter for Unaccompanied Migrant Minors

"Five minutes before a session of the Hérault Department, departmental councilors discovered a loan-for-use contract between the Metropolis and the departmental council, concerning a 5,000 m² plot of land, intended to accommodate the UAMs that Michael Delafosse wishes to move from the city center to the north of our city," assure the citizens’ association for the defense of the environment of northern Montpellier, the Hôpitaux-Facultés neighborhood council, chaired by Thierry Teulade and the Non au Béton collective chaired by the local lawyer, Alain Berthet.

"Contrary to what has been stated by the city and the department, this is not a temporary solution, but the confirmation of the "storage" of 50 minors for 5 years, on a plot of land that does not have sewage, water or electricity, but above all without educational support and without protection against the temptation of easy money," they denounce, adding that "the start of the structural work on February 12 is continuing without a building permit having been issued yet. They also stated that these UAMs will be housed in "Algeco".

Another opponent of the project: the deputy of the 4th constituency of Hérault, Jean-François Eliaou, author of a report on the management of UAMs in France. He would have announced false information about the construction of the center, which provoked a reaction from Michaël Delafosse. "Our city is facing the thorny problem of unaccompanied minors. Many of these UAMs are looking for integration paths, but some, a minority, fall into something else and often for lack of appropriate supervision. I, with Sébastien Cote, my deputy in charge of public tranquility, held a round table, in accordance with my campaign commitments, with all the stakeholders in this file. We are in the process of creating an educational place, as soon as possible," says the mayor and president of the Montpellier Metropolis.

He says he is outraged that minors end up in hotel rooms. "[...] We are building a place with educational supervision by professionals and which will allow us to no longer have UAMs in hotel rooms. [...] I made the choice to have a place where we educate, where we supervise, where we support, where we avoid the mafias, or rather the mafia networks, or rather the people who would like to take advantage of human distress, taking hold. And when this place is built, there will be no more UAMs in hotel rooms in Montpellier".