A record 735 homeless people died on the streets of France in 2023, the non-profit Les Morts de la Rue, which tracks homeless deaths, said on Wednesday. The group accuses officials and the public of ignoring the crisis, saying the toll reflects widespread indifference to the struggles faced by homeless people across France.
The organisation – which has been reporting on homeless deaths in France since 2012 – says the number of people who died on the streets last year increased significantly from 2022, when 624 people were reported deceased.
However, the association points out that the latest figures should be interpreted with caution, as a significant proportion of deaths have not been included in their study, as it is difficult to know precisely how many homeless people there are in France.
According to the Abbé Pierre Foundation, there are around 330,000 homeless in France, while the latest official estimate from France's INSEE statistics institute – dating from in 2012 – put the number at 143,000.
For 2023, the collective counted 735 homeless people who had died – a total that could be revised upwards to 826 if the study were to include people who were no longer on the streets, but had been homeless during their lives.
Limited life expectancy
Les Morts de la Rue has also underlined that the average age of the people who died is 49 – almost 30 years younger than the general population.
The vast majority of deaths involved men, although the proportion of women has also increased..
Nearly a third of deaths took place in public places, followed by care centres – up on previous years – indicating the difficulty homeless people face when trying to access care or being cared for at the end of life.
Some 22 percent of deaths were due to external causes – such as transport accidents or assault – while less than one percent of deaths were linked to the consumption of alcohol or drugs.
The group has also be critical of a number of government measures that penalise homeless people, such as the law against illegal occupation of housing and police orders banning food distribution in certain districts of Paris and Calais.
