Businesses next to an iconic theatre in the centre of Paris that has been occupied by migrants for months are facing bankruptcy and their owners have received death threats, MailOnline has learned.
The Gaite-Lyrique theatre has been overtaken by some 450 Africans who were previously sleeping rough on the streets of the capital.
Less than half of this number were invited to a conference entitled ‘Reinventing the welcome for refugees in France’ at the historic playhouse in December by the stage managers.
But they were encouraged not to leave and set up home there by the radical ‘Collectif des Jeunes du Parc de Belleville’ group who told the migrants, who all claim to be under 18, they are ‘entitled’ to ‘permanent’ housing as they are minors.
Local officials insist that the squatters are adults and have refused to provide alternative accommodation – effectively closing the theatre for almost three months.
Now business owners have accused this extreme left-wing group, named after a Paris park where hundreds of migrants used to sleep rough, of threatening their lives and businesses and claim they are powerless to stop their demise.
The owner of the Bistrot de la Gaite restaurant, Elia Cordier, told MailOnline she is close to bankruptcy and previously dared not speak out against the issue as she has received death threats.
She told MailOnline: ‘This political stunt is ruining me. I am losing thousands of euros every day.
Police corral migrants out of the local park outside the Gate Lyrique theatre in Paris on March 2
The Gaite-Lyrique theatre has been overtaken by some 450 Africans who were previously sleeping rough on the streets of the capital
People sleep under a table, on pieces of furniture and charge cellphones during an occupation action in the Gaite Lyrique theatre
Dozens of migrants, the majority of whom are from African countries, are seen in an area of the Gaite Lyrique cultural centre
Other local businesses claim the usually tranquil park in front of the theatre has become a venue for drug dealing and other anti-social behaviour. Police officers are pictured above searching migrants
Migrants occupy the Gate Lyrique theatre in Paris, pictured on March 2
‘On a normal Saturday I would clear €2,500. Today I’ll be lucky if I make €200. If this carries on, I will be bankrupt within one or two months.
Usually, the terrace of the Bistrot de la Gaite next to the theatre would be packed on a bright Saturday lunchtime, with Parisians soaking up the winter sunshine.
But this weekend, the seats are empty, as are every seat inside the traditional French restaurant.
Ms Cordier added: ‘I don’t want to talk about how I feel about the occupation – I’ve had death threats from the anarchists behind all of this.’
However previously she told The Times how the anti-social behaviour of the migrants had ruined the area.
Ms Cordier said: ‘They hang around outside my terrace, smoking joints and fighting among themselves.
‘Not only do we no longer get theatregoers because the theatre is shut but we don’t get passers-by either. They’re being frightened away by all these young men.’
Other local businesses claim the usually tranquil park in front of the theatre has become a venue for drug dealing and other anti-social behaviour.
A man is being searched for drugs in Paris crime hotspot the Blvd De la Chapelle, Barbes, in Paris on March 2
Gendarmes could be seen searching young men for drugs on Saturday lunchtime on the Boulevard de la Chapelle, in the crime hot-spot of Barbès-Rochechouart, in the notorious 18th arrondissement
And local residents claim the occupation is threatening the very essence of French culture.
‘What is happening here is putting French culture at risk,’ businessman David Bayard told MailOnline as he sipped a cup of hot chocolate with his wife Tiffany while they watched the African migrants mill around the steps of the iconic theatre.
‘Paris is the centre of French culture. This theatre is important to French culture. We used to go to this theatre often. Now this occupation has taken that away from us.
‘There are hundreds of hotel rooms that are empty across Paris. Surely it is not too difficult to put these young people in them.’
Tiffany, 39, added: ‘Why can’t the state find a safe place for these people to sleep. Closing down this theatre is an act of cultural sabotage.’
Meanwhile three police officers arrive and order the migrants who are sitting on benches and speaking on mobile phones to leave.
The theatre is also facing bankruptcy as its income has collapsed.
On Friday, its 60 employees, who had been attempting to ‘manage the situation’, walked out and handed over responsibility for the iconic theatre to the Paris authority.
Pictured above are migrants working as delivery riders in Paris on March 2
A migrant camp on the steps of the Saint Gervais-Saint Protais church in Paris
A young isolated minor sitting on a chair and sleeping with his arms on a table during the occupation of the Gaite Lyrique building by homeless isolated minors in Paris
People play table football, in front of blankets donated and stored, during an occupation action in the Gaite Lyrique cultural centre
Residents and the theatre management have called on the authorities to evict the migrants, but politicians fear this will lead to violence that will be used as propaganda by the anarchist group.
A police sergeant told MailOnline: ‘These young African men are being exploited by these extreme activists who are trying to cause anarchy on the streets of Paris.
‘They have managed to hijack this situation for their own aims.
‘The Paris Prefet [Regional Governor] has told us to maintain order but has instructed us not to carry out a forced eviction as this will just play into the extremists’ hands.
‘They want to portray the authorities in a bad light by filming a confrontation with the police and we are not going to do that.’
Representatives of the ‘Collectif’ inside the theatre refused to discuss the occupation when asked for comment.
One member told MailOnline: ‘Go away. You print lies, fascist.’
Another member pulled a balaclava over his face as he threw insults.
Residents and the theatre management have called on the authorities to evict the migrants
Residents and the theatre management have called on the authorities to evict the migrants (some pictured outside the theatre), but politicians fear this will lead to violence that will be used as propaganda by the anarchist group
Anarchists helping Migrants occupy the Gate Lyrique theatre in Paris
Scenes of African migrants sleeping rough on the streets of Paris have become a common sight with tent cities springing up all over the capital
An empty cafe next to where Migrants occupy the Gate Lyrique theate in Paris
Scenes of African migrants sleeping rough on the streets of Paris have become a common sight with tent cities springing up all over the capital
Politicians fear evictions will lead to violence that will be used as propaganda by the anarchist group
Scenes of African migrants sleeping rough on the streets of Paris have become a common sight with tent cities springing up all over the capital.
The growing tide of young men from west Africa risking everything for a new life in France is candidly portrayed in the film ‘Souleymane’s Story’ which won an award at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
It tells how a 16-year-old boy, ‘Souleymane’ leaves his home in Guinea, crosses the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, to get to Paris where he works illegally as a food-delivery rider, sleeping wherever he can, while his claim for asylum is processed.
Scenes of vagrancy are increasingly common on the streets of the French capital as crime becomes a growing concern in Paris, with the northern districts considered the most dangerous.
Gendarmes could be seen searching young men for drugs on Saturday lunchtime on the Boulevard de la Chapelle, in the crime hot-spot of Barbès-Rochechouart, in the notorious 18th arrondissement.
Heists of precious gems such as the £6 million robbery of the ‘Jeweller to the Stars’ Harry Winston in May last year and the £8 million gun-point robbery of Kim Kardashian at her boutique hotel in October 2016 make dramatic headlines.
But it is the petty crimes – the clandestine sale of imported cigarettes on street corners and widespread pickpocketing in the city’s Metro – that create an increasingly hostile atmosphere across the city.
Aggressive begging is also commonplace outside cafes and small supermarkets in tourist areas.
