The building, once a warehouse, apartments and offices, is a temporary home — with one shower — for 60 adults and children. The stench of damp clothes and clogged toilets overpowers the strong scents of tomato and spices from the makeshift kitchenettes on upper floors. This is a so-called squat in Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburban area east of Paris that at one time was an industrial district. The other day she was getting ready to go to court to argue that she has the right to stay. “It may not be ideal, but it’s the best I have, and it’s a safe place to sleep,” she said one recent evening.

---

Persons: Denis, Mariam Komara, ” Locations: Seine, Paris, Ivory