More than 2,000 children are forced to sleep outside each night in France, according to an annual survey whose authors blame poor housing policies for a situation that gets worse each year.
In their annual survey, Unicef France and the Federation of solidarity actors (FAS) on Thursday found that at least 2,043 children, including 467 under the age of 4 years old, spent the night outside on the night of 19 August of this year.
They were without a housing solution, even after their families called the 115 emergency housing number – a situation the associations say is “unacceptable” in a country like France.
A representative for the UN children’s agency, Adeline Hazan, said that the number of children sleeping rough is a “flagrant violation of the principles of the International convention on the rights of children”, which France has ratified.
“We are very, very worried to see that, far from getting better, the situation gets worse from year to year,” Hazan told the AFP news agency.
The number of children sleeping rough this year is up 3 percent compared to August 2023, 27 percent compared to 2022 and 120 percent from 2020.
And the survey most certainly undercounted the actual number, as it does not count those families who did not call the emergency housing number, those who live in squatter camps or unaccompanied minors.
“It is a tragedy when you know the disastrous consequences, from mental health to education,” Hazan said, days before the start of the 2024/2025 school year.
The associations say the situation is a result of housing policies that only look at short-term results, focus on getting rid of squatters and cut housing aid to the most vulnerable.
(with AFP)
