French police removed dozens of migrants from the center of Paris because of the Olympic Games, among them children

French police today removed dozens of migrants, including families with small children, from the plateau in front of the Paris City Hall, ahead of marking 100 days until the start of the Olympic Games in the French capital.

The police came at dawn and removed about 50 people, mostly women and children from three months to ten years old, who were wrapped in strollers, under blankets or covered with plastic sheets to protect them from the rain while sleeping in the square.

The migrants packed their things and boarded a bus that took them to the city of Besançon in the east of France, where they will be temporarily housed in a local government facility.

Aid workers are concerned that today's police move marks the start of a wider push by Paris authorities to clear the city of migrants and others sleeping rough ahead of the summer Olympics, without providing longer-term housing options.

Jan Manzi, a member of the migrant aid group Utopia 56, told The Associated Press during today's police action in central Paris that city officials were "paving the way for the Olympics" and that it was "nothing more than a social cleansing of the city."

Olympic organizers said they were working with aid groups to find solutions for the homeless, including many who come from around the world to Paris in search of shelter or work.

Many of these families come from French-speaking African countries, including Burkina Faso, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Senegal. They sleep on the streets for days, weeks, and some even for months.

Humanitarian groups such as Utopia 56 are distributing food, blankets and diapers to migrants, and have helped some find temporary accommodation for a night or two.

The Paris Olympics will run from July 26 to August 11, followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.