(AFP) When the quiet French town of Forges-les-Bains was chosen to host a centre for young male asylum seekers in 2016, there was uproar.
The disused hospital earmarked for the project was firebombed, some 250 residents staged a protest and NGO workers assisting the group of Afghans had their car tyres slashed.
“At first people said we were terrorists … and that we were going to give hash to the children (in the school next door),” said Asif Qaderi, 23, who was part of the first group bussed to the leafy town 50 kilometres (31 miles) south of Paris.
But the fears expressed in the town of 4,000 — of home break-ins and girls at the school next to the centre being harassed — came to nought.
