Members

of four families from the area at the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes on

Wednesday petitioned the French embassy for compensation in their

eviction battle. Resident Kem Vichet said City Hall's compensation was

insufficient, which is why they had approached the ambassador. Kem

Vichet said the municipality had refused to negotiate further. "The

government always succeeds in evicting people. So now I must decide

whether to live as a human or an animal because there are many people

in my family, and I can't buy a house with the small sum on offer." The

government has offered up to US$10,000 per family plus a small plot of

land outside Phnom Penh.