A Hopeful Solution For Paris's Asylum-Seekers Unravels

A year ago this month, the first humanitarian center for refugees opened its doors in Paris. With 400 beds, the Centre de Premier Acceuil, or Initial Welcome Center, was designed to offer emergency shelter, showers, and nourishment to those in need for 5 to 10 days. During this time, refugees would also be directed towards longer term solutions in shelters and housing for asylum seekers across France.

The center, a colorful and inflatable structure (the domes of the center call to mind a hot-air balloon) is located in the north of Paris at Porte de la Chapelle. An initiative of Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, the center was intended to be a solution, or at least a partial solution, to the increasingly visible refugee crisis in the city. In collaboration with Emmaus Solidarity, a humanitarian organization dating back to 1949 in France, and Utopia 56, a newcomer on the humanitarian scene, the City of Paris opened its first official welcome center in November 2016.