Hundreds of migrants occupy Pantheon in Paris

PARIS: Hundreds of undocumented migrants on Friday surged into the historic Pantheon memorial complex in central Paris, occupying the premises to demand that their status is regularised, activists said.

A member of La Chapelle Debout activist group, which helps migrants in Paris, said that 700 migrants and supporters had rushed into the building in the afternoon. A video posted on Twitter showed hundreds of people under the main dome of the building chanting "Black Vests!", the name of an association of migrants in Paris.

A statement issued in the name of the Black Vests, whose name refers to the "yellow vest" anti-government protests movement, said they were demanding a meeting with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.

Tourists were evacuated from the Pantheon, the final resting place of France’s greatest non-military luminaries including the writers Voltaire, Victor Hugo and Emile Zola. Some activists protested outside while police maintained a heavy presence around the building.