Faced with the housing crisis, a new squat opens in the Paris region

• Île-de-France, report

On the night time of Thursday, January 2 to Friday, a bunch of homeless individuals started to reside in a big deserted constructing within the Paris area, with the help of the affiliation Right to housing. Mattresses, stoves, meals, electrical energy have began to make up a bearable habitat for these individuals who, like tens of 1000’s within the Paris area, are present process a housing disaster which is worsening from yr to yr.

Hakim (1) is 38 years outdated and is likely one of the new squatters. He works within the restaurant trade and has lived for greater than three years in a house for individuals launched from jail or psychiatric asylum. “ It’s a painful, generally harmful state of affairs “he says to Reporterre. “ My room is 9 m², there is no such thing as a kitchen. The state of affairs is momentary, I’m advised, however this momentary has been occurring for years. “ Anxiousness, like many poorly housed, is sooner or later being on the road.

The anxiousness of the homeless: being on the road.

It’s additionally the concern of Kesso (2), 52, working in building. “ Since 2015, I’ve been on the lookout for housing in all places, on the City Corridor, at Housing Motion, at 1 % employer. I don’t discover. I've been staying with a pal for a while, however his spouse goes to come back again, so we have now to vacate the room. So for the previous few weeks, I've been sleeping with some, with others. I’ve a baby of a yr and a half, my spouse lives in a social heart. “

For Marianne (3), the state of affairs is hardly higher. She labored within the boilermaker, however an sickness struck her. She discovered a job in an affiliation. She has lived together with her daughter for six years in a constructing HLM in Seine-et-Marne. Housing is unsanitary, however the Public Housing Authority (OPH) who manages the constructing doesn’t need to renovate the flats, the constructing will quickly be demolished. “ They need to promote entry to property, however we are able to't purchase it. The place we’re going ? “

Jean-Baptiste Eyraud: “ The homeless are an increasing number of quite a few, as a result of there’s much less and fewer housing for the working lessons. “

Squatters are solely the tip of a generalized misfortune all through France, in keeping with Jean-Baptiste Eyraud, spokesperson for the affiliation Right to housing, which helps the “ requisition “ of this constructing that has been empty for years. “ The homeless are an increasing number of quite a few, as a result of there’s much less and fewer housing for the working lessons. “ The brand new development to develop “ combined housing “ within the HLM in keeping with him results in “ drive up costs and drive out the poor “. And this in a state of affairs the place “ tenants are impoverished, and might now not entry the property “.

A number of developments mix to worsen the housing disaster:

. the worldwide evolution of inequality results in a lower within the already weak patrimony of the poor lessons ;

. greater property costs make it an increasing number of troublesome to entry respectable housing ;

. the decline in APL (Personalised housing help) determined by the federal government of Mr. Macron has additional restricted the protection valve for the poor.

All this results in a rise in evictions, from 90,000 eviction judgments per yr within the 1990s to round 130,000 in 2018. And but, exclaims Mr. Eyraud, “ the variety of vacant houses in France rose from 2.1 million in 2009 to three.2 in 2019 ! “

What to do ? Struggle for recognition of this example and housing for the homeless. “ In such a state of affairs “, says Kesso, “ there all the time must be hope, you may't simply stand by, it’s important to do one thing “. So, with the others, he occupies this empty constructing.

Sunday January 5, Droit au logement will arrange a help rally for squatters and all homeless individuals.

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