Winter has arrived in France, bringing cold and rain with it. Everywhere in the streets of our cities, the nights and days are becoming increasingly harsh for all those who do not have a roof over their heads. Supposed to protect all those who are on the streets, the State is unable to cope and sees its emergency accommodation solutions overflowing everywhere. “The emergency accommodation system in our country is running out of steam,” believe several mayors of large cities in France. This Tuesday, six of them wrote to Emmanuel Macron in order to obtain a meeting to denounce “the humanitarian crisis” in progress.
Jeanne Barseghian (Strasbourg), Nathalie Appéré (Rennes), Grégory Doucet (Lyon), Anne Hidalgo (Paris), Pierre Hurmic (Bordeaux) and Éric Piolle (Grenoble) sign a committed letter, asking the Head of State for urgent resources . “As mayors of large cities, we cannot compensate for the undersizing of state systems nor respond to the demands of a growing number of very vulnerable people and children forced to sleep on the street,” write the socialist and environmentalist mayors.
At the beginning of October, these six cities filed appeals against the State to ask it to reimburse the sums spent by the municipalities to help the homeless. “While the situation is getting worse and the situation is becoming more dramatic every day, our cry of warning has nevertheless remained a dead letter.” The councilors say they want to “continue the dialogue” with the Minister of the City and Housing Olivier Klein, “who was able, in the winter of 2022, to open the door to solutions”, in particular with the circular called “no children on the street “.
Children on the street in Strasbourg, Rennes…
According to the mayor of Strasbourg Jeanne Barseghian “94% of people who call 115 to obtain accommodation remain without a solution” in her city. “In the middle of December, everyone can see women, children and sick people living in tents.” Last year at this time, PS mayor Nathalie Appéré had already expressed the same concerns, denouncing “38 children having slept in the streets of Rennes”. “The situation is no longer tenable because the system is blocked. These children didn’t ask for anything. Their parents are waiting to be given status. They just want to work and find accommodation,” she said.