Dozens of Syrians who are supporters of Rifaat al-Assad suffer poor conditions in France, after it cut off financial support for them.
And the French Press Agency published a report in which it talked about the difficulties these Syrians face, saying: “Dozens of Syrians of his supporters, residing on the edge of a forest north of Paris in a safe haven whose support has been cut off, made them live without water or electricity, after he was taking care of all their expenses.” .
Dozens of families sponsored by Rifaat al-Assad reside in a horse farm 27 kilometers from Paris. Within the 40-hectare property there is a castle, an indoor swimming pool and stables that have been converted into suites and houses.
According to the agency, Rifaat al-Assad moved to Europe with his family, members of his entourage and his employees in the eighties of the last century, and about 200 of them were distributed between Spain, England and France, where they settled in the small town of Besancourt on the edge of the Montmorency forest, where Rifaat bought the Saint Jacques horse farm.
Rifaat al-Assad has stopped sending money to the families he was sponsoring, since the start of his trial in Switzerland, according to a former bodyguard who refused to reveal his identity.
The city’s mayor, Jean-Christophe Boulet, said that Rifaat al-Assad “left a debt of 200,000 euros to the castle of Besancourt, and does not pay the electricity or the expenses, as the director of the electricity distribution network in France decided to cut off the electricity after his conviction earlier this month in Paris on charges of money laundering and embezzlement. Syrian public resources, in what is known as the (illegal enrichment) issue.
The residents of Besancourt Castle expressed their willingness to pay for electricity if the electricity director installed special meters, but the law forbids this, especially since Rifaat al-Assad is the only owner, as families live in fear of eviction.
The French Press Agency quoted Rifaat al-Assad’s son, Siwar, as saying that his father “has taken care of these families for thirty years, and that the confiscation of property and bank accounts from the courts now prevents paying the bills.”
The agency indicated that the mayor of Bisankur submitted a report to the health authorities to restore electricity quickly, stressing that “this is a public health problem, and these families have children, and some of them no longer go to school.”
The mayor added that “it is necessary to discuss the fate of this property and the future of these families coming from Syria, whose children were born in France.”
The French authorities had sentenced Rifaat al-Assad, 84, to four years in prison in the case of “assets collected by fraud”, and confiscated his assets and property in France worth 90 million euros.
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