Police on Tuesday evacuated hundreds of young migrants from a central Paris theatre they had occupied for months, arresting 46 people, police and Agence France-Presse journalists said.
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The evacuation came as French authorities are seeking to tighten immigration policies, in a move reflecting the rightward shift in French politics.
Police with batons charged the migrants, who had found shelter in the historic Gaite Lyrique venue, as many people gathered outside to protest against the eviction, they said.
Shortly before 6am, members of the anti-riot CRS police forced their way through cordons that activists had formed to prevent them from entering the venue.
They pushed into the 19th-century theatre, which is famous for performances of opera, operetta and ballet and which had cancelled all performances during the three-month occupation by migrants demanding food and shelter.
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Many are underage and asked to be treated as such in their immigration process.