Migrants protest outside Paris City Hall for emergency shelter
The protest, started on August 5, is being carried out to pressure the French government to provide shelter for immigrants, some who have been forced out due to a housing shortage.
Photos taken this week showed makeshift shelter of blue tarps tied to metal fences erected along the footpath next to Paris City Hall, near the Seine River.
The families can be seen huddled underneath resting or sleeping on rolled out blankets and sleeping bags in the summer heat, with temperatures reaching the mid 30s.
Kids played with one another while their mothers tended to younger children.
Utopia 56, a French-based not-for-profit who helped set up the protest, said more than 200 people had turned up to its office last Monday desperately seeking accommodation.
But it said it could not provide its usual emergency shelter as it is struggling to keep the space open amid a 'slow down' in public services and fewer volunteers in summer.
'We are trying to find a solution for as many of them as possible through our network of solidarity accommodations. But we are reaching the point where we have to stop, at least temporarily, our accommodation activities, overwhelmed by a dramatic humanitarian situation and a lack of resources,' Utopia 56 said in a statement.
The not-for-profit said it had sent 'daily alerts' to the City of Paris, which only responded after 'visible actions', it claimed.
'We will not move until a lasting solution is found,' Nathan Lequeux, co-ordinator of the Utopia 56 association's Paris branch said.
The group also called out the 'increasingly aggressive' expulsions happening in France since the end of the 2024 Olympic Games.
During the day some migrants went to work while their loved ones ate breakfast supplied by protest organisers.
At night, some could be heard chanting: 'We want housing! Zero children on the streets!'
The migrant issue continues to be a major topic in Europe.
According to figures from the United Kingdom's Home Office, more than 25,000 migrants crossed the English Channel in the first half of 2025.
Just last week 13 boats totalling almost 900 people were brought to shore in the seaside town of Dover as border force continue to be challenged with people-smuggling gangs.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron last month agreed to trial the 'one in, one out' policy that would see some migrants sent back to France.
But for every asylum seeker who is returned to France after trying to enter the UK illegally, one would be let in through legal channels.
'This groundbreaking deal is a crucial further step in turning the tide on illegal small boat crossings and restoring order to our immigration system,' Mr Starmer said.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philip criticised the government. He argued the deal will 'make no difference' and it won't deter migrants from attempting the dangerous journey via boats.
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News.com.au
19 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Surpass the Liberal Party': Neo-Nazi group claims surge in sign-ups after Melbourne CBD march
An Australian neo-Nazi group claims it has seen 'hundreds' of new sign-ups following an incendiary march through the Melbourne CBD, prompting warnings about the group's boasting and recruitment tactics. Around 100 members of the National Socialist Network (NSN), wearing masks and dressed in black, paraded through the streets of Australia's second-largest city at around 1am on Saturday, banging drums and holding a banner reading 'White Man Fight Back' as police watched on. The event was met with outrage by Jewish groups and the Victorian government, with Premier Jacinta Allan vowing to introduce new laws giving police powers to 'unmask cowards at protests'. NSN leader Thomas Sewell, who led Saturday's march, posted on private messaging app Telegram that the event had generated a surge in interest for the group's new political arm, White Australia, and even claimed it was poised to overtake mainstream parties in membership. 'White Australia is tracking to surpass the Liberal Party membership in less than 18 months,' he wrote, sharing a graph appearing to show a sharp increase in registrations on August 8 and 9. 'We've had a couple hundred sign-ups in just the last couple days. Our organisation is almost 2.5x the size it was just six months ago. White Australia Rising!' Another prominent NSN figure, Joel Davis, shared a purported traffic overview of the group's website, appearing to show a surge in total traffic. 'When neo-Nazis brag about surpassing the Liberal Party, we are no longer debating ideas, we are confronting a recruitment drive for an Australian chapter of the Third Reich,' said Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, who led the national campaign that resulted in the banning of the Nazi swastika, salute and the sale of Third Reich Memorabilia. 'Thomas Sewell's dream of a 'White Australia' is not nostalgia, it's a blueprint for racial war, and he's building his army in plain sight. This is an extremist enterprise that dreams of ethnic cleansing and is openly recruiting foot soldiers.' Dr Abramovich warned that 'every day they are allowed to operate, they are normalising a future that has no place in this country'. 'This is the moment to draw a line that will not be crossed,' he said. 'Ban them. List the National Socialist Network and its satellites as terrorist organisations. Shut down their digital pipelines of hate. Freeze their accounts. Dismantle their recruitment channels before another teenager is pulled into the vortex.' Dr Abramovich said the NSN were 'Hitler-worshippers who openly talk of 'remigration', their sanitised code for mass deportation, while privately fantasising about executions'. 'They are using our freedoms to turn our democracy into a coffin, and we need coordinated national action and the full weight of law enforcement, intelligence, and political will to stem this tide of hatred,' he said. 'That means proscription powers with teeth, and constant monitoring of extremist infiltration into political parties. The rise in sign-ups that Sewell brags about is a siren. We can stop this but only if we act like we mean it. No sanctuary for Nazis. No refuge for those who worship genocide. No platform for the merchants of racial war.' White Australia also appears to have seen a surge in donations since Saturday. A crowd-funding campaign on GiveSendGo, created by Mr Sewell to 'assist with costs tied to our advocacy, such as legal expenses from ongoing disputes', has received nearly $79,000 since the start of the year, including several large donations this week. 'Awesome march through Melbourne guys!' wrote one supporter who contributed $10,000. 'Inspiring. You're showing the White world how it should be done. Blood and honour!' Another who pitched in $500 wrote, 'Just given a little something back for all the org has done.' In a message on the group's website, Mr Sewell claims 'White Australians must organise as a collective body in order to secure our existence' and that the country was founded as 'the White working man's paradise'. 'Demographics are destiny, every year Australia becomes less White,' he writes. 'This is a harsh reality everyone understands to be true. You cannot sit on the fence for a matter as important as the future existence of our kind.' It's not clear how many total members White Australia now has. has sought comment from Mr Sewell. A group needs at least 1500 members on the electoral roll in order to apply to register as a political party with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Membership numbers of the major political parties are a closely guarded secret. The Liberal Party has around 40,000 members nationally, according to a 2022 estimate by former federal party treasurer Michael Yabsley. A more recent report in The Guardian suggested membership has been in steady decline, with around 9000-10,000 in Victoria and 8000-10,000 in NSW. The Labor Party had an estimated 60,000 members as of 2020, according to The Guardian. In a video shared to Telegram following Saturday's event, Mr Davis boasted the procession had been 'our biggest march in history'. 'People say that Melbourne is the left-wing capital of Australia — it's becoming the Nazi capital of Australia,' he said. 'It was quite something because the police just had to accept our presence. We've been treated very poorly by the police in the past. We've now grown large enough that they simply have to accept the fact that we want to march … We're all on a dopamine rush because we know this is just the beginning.' The march caused outrage and led Ms Allan to declare, 'Nazis don't belong in this country and they know it.' 'That's why they hide behind masks in the dark,' she said. Ms Allan announced a series of measures to crack down on protests in December, including bans face coverings as well as certain flags and symbols. The Jewish Council of Victoria urged the state government to act when parliament resumes next week. 'Eight months after promising anti-masking and anti-hate symbol laws, the government must act now,' it said in a statement. '(The NSN) are a tiny fringe, rejected by the overwhelming majority of Victorians, who proudly embrace our multicultural communities.' Victoria Police said officers responded to the protest to 'ensure public order was maintained'. No arrests were made but a man was allegedly assaulted when he confronted the group, a police spokesperson said. He was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and as of Tuesday, police were still investigating the incident. Footage circulated online appeared to show the moment a member of the public confronted the marchers and a fight broke out. Messages from Mr Davis to the group also boasted the march had been the 'top story on the news tonight'. He called on his followers to march again — next time, in a nationwide anti-immigration rally planned for August 31, which has police in capital cities on alert. 'This could be the beginning of something massive,' he said. In a post on Telegram, Mr Sewell wrote about the event, 'After only just arriving home from our summit today, I have been informed that foreign fifth columns are attempting to hijack our August 31st public rally for Australia. White Australians must assemble on August 31st against the traitors and foreigners who are trying to destroy our great nation.' But groups like Reignite Democracy, which sprung up against 'tyranny' during the pandemic, are furious about the link. '31st August is ruined,' the group wrote on social media. 'It had great potential, but something went wrong. Whether it was planned by extremists or hijacked by extremists, it doesn't matter. When the leader of the Nazis claims it as his event, there's no coming back from there.' On Saturday, NSN members from around the country gathered in country Victoria for their 'national conference' — one held at a caravan park in Ballan. Approximately 250 white nationalists were in attendance. Anti-fascist researchers from the White Rose Society, an organisation that has been studying neo-Nazis for several years, told they want to 'clear the country of their perceived enemies — Jews, Muslims, Asians and anyone not white and right-wing'. Importantly, they said they are careful about what they discuss in public — and it's not the same as what they say privately. 'In public they talk about 'remigration' — but we know in private they talk about executions and mass murder,' a spokesperson for the White Rose Society said. ''Remigration' is a sanitised word for genocide. To achieve their long term goals, they want to recruit members and sway public opinion in their favour. They do that through public stunts and sparking outrage.' The White Rose Society said the group's national conferences were always paired with 'some public stunt'. 'On previous occasions, state police in NSW and SA have disrupted these stunts so this time the group went 'sneaky Nazi' and filtered into Melbourne city in small groups, seemingly escaping police notice,' the spokesperson said. 'The neo-Nazis are claiming the march as a victory because they were unimpeded and their actions received widespread media coverage. However, what they don't want us to notice is that after five years of working hard to expand, they had around 100 men marching.' The spokesperson said 'it's not the victory they claim at all' but 'does follow a new pattern — one of their stunts was at 3am'. Mr Davis, meanwhile, is currently facing a charge of displaying a Nazi symbol on a belt buckle at an earlier march in Adelaide on Australia Day. His defence lawyer, Andrew Hopkins, has argued the allegation impinges on Mr Davis's implied constitutional rights to political expression. The 29-year-old, speaking outside court after a hearing in May, said he would go 'all the way' to the High Court to fight the charge. The next hearing is set down for September 23. SA Police arrested and charged 16 people with loitering and displaying Nazi symbols after the Australia Day rally, although charges against some of the men, including Mr Sewell, have since been withdrawn.
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
UK, France and Germany threaten to reimpose sanctions on Iran as nuclear program deadline nears
Britain, France, and Germany have threatened to reimpose sanctions on Iran as an end-of-the-month deadline nears for the country to resume negotiations with the West over its nuclear program. Top diplomats of the three countries, known as the E3, wrote in a letter to the United Nations that they were willing to trigger a process known as the "snapback" mechanism, which allows one of the Western parties to reimpose UN sanctions if Tehran doesn't comply with its requirements. French Foreign Minister Jean-Nöel Barrot posted the letter to his X account on Wednesday, local time, and had co-signed it along with top diplomats from Germany and the United Kingdom. "E3 have always committed to use all diplomatic tools at our disposal to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon," the letter said. "We have made clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism." The Iranian government didn't immediately respond to the development, but parliament member Manouchehr Mottaki — who was Iran's top diplomat for five years in the 2000s — warned of a swift reaction to any move to trigger the snapback mechanism. He said the Iranian parliament has a "finger on the trigger" for quitting the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, or NPT, the international treaty aimed at halting the spread of nuclear weapons. "We only need 24 hours to approve quitting the nuclear deal," if the E3 raises the issue at the UN Security Council, Mr Mottaki said. The letter from the E3 comes following a period of apparent diplomatic deadlock after a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June, where Israeli and American jets struck some key nuclear-related facilities in the Islamic Republic. The countries met with Iranian officials last month in Türkiye at Iran's consulate building in Istanbul on the possibility of reimposing international sanctions, lifted in 2015 in exchange for Tehran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said at the time that he hoped that the meeting would see the E3 nations reassess their "previous unconstructive attitude". Since the war, talks with Washington for a new nuclear deal haven't resumed, and Iran has since suspended ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, following the attacks. The IAEA's first visit to Iran since the war didn't entail any visits to nuclear facilities on Monday, and cooperation wasn't officially restored. German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Josef Hinterseher said that the letter "once again underlines that the legal preconditions for snapback have long existed". "Our position and our appeal is, very clearly, that Iran still has the choice of deciding to return to diplomacy … and full cooperation with the IAEA," he told reporters at a regular news conference in Berlin. US intelligence agencies and the IAEA had assessed Iran last had an organised nuclear weapons program in 2003, though Tehran had been enriching uranium up to 60 per cent — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. The IAEA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hit out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call for Iranians to rise up against their government over power and water shortages. Mr Netanyahu's video message on Tuesday came as Iran grapples with persistent water and electricity shortages amid spells of hot weather. In his remarks, the Israeli premier called on Iranians to "take risks for freedom", "take to the streets," and demand accountability from the Iranian government. He suggested bringing Israeli water experts to provide "cutting-edge technology and know-how" to Tehran. In a post on X, Mr Pezeshkian hit out at the Israeli prime minister. "The regime that deprived the people of Gaza of water and food wants to bring water to the people of Iran. What a mirage!" said Mr Pezeshkian. Last week, Mr Pezeshkian told a group off officials that "we do not have water, we do not have water under our feet, and we do not have water behind our dams, so you tell me what do we do? Someone comes and tells me what do I have to do?" He said that "we are in a serious and unimaginable crisis," and added that his administration is in touch with experts who are trying to find a solution to the problem. AP
SBS Australia
a day ago
- SBS Australia
These protests want to 'take our country back'. But the real issues run much deeper
Groups of Australians are planning to demonstrate on 31 August for the controversial 'March For Australia' protests, which call for an end to what organisers describe as reclamation of Australia's identity and "mass migration". The movement has stirred strong reactions online. Influencer Abbie Chatfield condemned the rallies as "racist", "bigoted", "disgusting" and "terrifying". Supporters argue the protests represent concerns about Australia's future and immigration levels. But experts have warned that the "anti-immigration protests" stem from misinformation and fear, rather than evidence that migrants are responsible for the country's social and economic challenges. What is the 'March for Australia'? On 31 August, six events are being planned across Australia as part of the 'March For Australia' protests. Organisers claim "endless migration, weak leadership and political cowardice" have caused Australia to change "in ways most of us never agreed to". SBS News has contacted the organisers for comment. One flyer read: "It's time to take our country back. It's time to defend our way of life. It's time to defend our culture. Stop mass immigration now." LISTEN TO While details of the protest on the site are minimal, the group has emphasised one rule for the march — "no foreign flags". Instead, they have called for a "sea of red and blue", with Australian ensigns and Eureka flags. It's still unclear who exactly is organising the march, with several groups allegedly attempting to take ownership. The official March for Australia Instagram account, created this week, has distanced itself from extremist figures like Thomas Sewell, the leader of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network, who allegedly tried to claim the march as his group's event. A March for Australia spokesperson told SBS News "attempts to hijack March For Australia for other issues, or to make it about any one group, are not in the spirit of the movement that we have taken custody of." "Recent claims have been made by various groups attempting to take ownership of March For Australia or attach their own agendas to it. We wish to make it clear: the organisers are not members of, nor acting on behalf of, any other group." Last weekend, Sewell led a group of masked neo-Nazis through Melbourne's CBD just after midnight. "These protests should be condemned by every Australian," Chatfield said in an Instagram reel. Right-wing political commentator Rukshan Fernando was among a number of accounts posting they were "looking forward to marching". Why are these protests happening now? Liz Allen, a demographer at the Australian National University Centre for Social Policy Research, said she is not surprised by the March for Australia protests. "I'm not surprised that people holding such views would mobilise and want to be heard," she told SBS News. "Increasingly, we're seeing Australians fear that they're being left behind and that fear — whether real or simply perceived — is something that we cannot ignore." While anti-immigration sentiment is not new in Australia, Allen said it has evolved. Anti-immigration sentiment is becoming more coordinated and is borrowing international taglines and catchphrases, where Allen says in the past it has been more ad hoc and reactionary. However, she hesitates to say the sentiment is imported. "Australia doesn't need to import racism. Australia has its own homegrown racism," she said. Polling by the Lowy Institute in June 2025 found 53 per cent of Australians think the number of migrants coming into the country each year is "too high", up five points from the previous year. Meanwhile, 38 per cent said immigration levels were "about right", and only 7 per cent thought they were "too low". Compared internationally, Australians appear slightly less anti-immigration than other countries. A 2023 Ipsos survey showed 34 per cent of Australians thought the country would be stronger if immigration stopped, compared with a global average of 43 per cent. But still, half of Australians believed "society is broken" and the "country is in decline". Misinformation and the scapegoating of migrants Central to the rise in anti-immigration sentiment is misinformation that blames migrants for deeper societal problems. Common myths driving anti-immigration sentiment include claims that migrants suppress wages, steal local jobs, or inflate house prices — all of which Allen describes as "nonsense". Professor Daniel Ghezelbash, a scholar of international and comparative refugee and migration law from the University of New South Wales, recommends a "fact sandwich" approach to counter false claims. "When Australia's borders were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, migration was at its lowest level in a century. Yet, housing prices still went up," Ghezelbash told SBS News. 1. Warn about the myth : "Instead of tackling the real issues, some political actors are just blaming migrants as if they're the reason housing has become unaffordable." 2. Point out the fallacy : "They're oversimplifying the problem to distract you from the actual causes." 3. End with the fact: "There are many factors that are driving Australia's housing crisis. And migration is just one very small piece of the puzzle." But Allen notes there is a large problem in Australia where not everyone is "getting a go", and said this is a sign of a more complex root issue behind anti-immigration sentiment. Four key drivers behind anti-immigration sentiment Allen highlights four major crises fuelling fear and resentment that can manifest as anti-immigration sentiment: housing affordability, climate change, gender inequality and economic insecurity. "These big four come together and create a tipping point that undermines the certainty of tomorrow — and with that comes a great deal of fear," she said. "It's not the fault of migrants, that's not the fault of immigration, but rather a deep-seated fear that someone else is getting or potentially getting an opportunity that you may not have the luxury of obtaining," Allen said. She describes it as "fear of the other", of being "taken over" or "left behind". "That loss of hope means fear can take over, and that's a very powerful emotion at the heart of anti-immigration sentiment," she said. The cost: declining social cohesion The latest survey from the Scanlon Foundation in late 2024 found social cohesion in Australia remains at a record low. Social cohesion is measured by attitudes across five key domains: belonging, worth, social justice, participation and acceptance. While most Australians support non-discriminatory immigration policies, the report found anti-immigration attitudes correlate strongly with economic and housing worries, rather than views on diversity or multiculturalism. It found almost half of Australians (49 per cent) believe immigration levels are too high. LISTEN TO James O'Donnell, the report's author, said economic stress and hardship remain the greatest challenges to social cohesion. "When people are worried about the economy and when they themselves experience unemployment, financial stress, their attitudes towards migration deteriorate," he told SBS News. "They're more likely to say things like, 'migrants increase house prices' or 'they take away jobs'." Allen said the timing of the March for Australia protests is particularly concerning amid already fragile social cohesion in Australia. "It's not a fault of immigration, but rather a number of significant social and economic issues that come together and undermine the potential future of the nation," she said. Allen said the key to countering anti-immigration protests and sentiment lies in restoring hope by addressing the real social and economic problems facing Australia and cutting through misinformation. "The root cause of these issues is fear — and fear is a beast that can quickly corrupt and overtake," she said. "Restoring hope is free of charge. "We can restore hope by tackling the issues that are at the core here: housing, economic security, gender equality, and climate change. "The rest is a distraction."
