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This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris

Tourists flock to the French capital for Christmas, but what is it like to live on the streets of the city of love?

This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Dominic sits on a street in the centre of Paris. He has been homeless for the past 20 years. A medical patrol by a team of volunteers working with Medecins du Monde provide him with a hot drink and a conversation, something Dominic says he misses the most. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
By Omar Havana
Published On 23 Dec 2018

“The meaning of the other and love have disappeared from this society. Without money, people do not exist.” – Jean, a 33-year-old homeless man living on the streets of Paris

At least 3,000 people are thought to be living on the streets of Paris this winter, more than half of whom are believed to have been born outside of France.

According to France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), in 2014, the number of homeless adults in the Paris Metropolitan Area had increased by 84 percent in the proceeding decade.

Some of that growth has been attributed to the 2008 financial crisis, some to the large numbers of migrants and refugees making their way to the French capital and some to the failure of salaries to keep up with the rising cost of living, particularly the cost of buying or renting a home.

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According to INSEE, 16.1 percent of Parisians – roughly 463,000 people – live below the poverty line, with an average monthly income of 747 euros ($848.65), which is 261 euros ($296.52) less than the poverty threshold.

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The result is that having a job no longer offers protection against homelessness. Fifty-year-old Kemal understands this all too well.

He used to be a taxi driver, but health issues led to him losing his job. 

“I have earned salaries of over 2,000 euros ($2,272) in the past, but Paris is an expensive city and I could not pay my debts,” he recalls. “Today, I have lost everything and my health problems will not allow me to dream of a better future.”

Now, Kemal sleeps beneath a shelter made from scraps of plastic in a square on the outskirts of the city.

“But I do not lose hope and I keep working hard every day to improve my life and to be able to earn some money to one day travel to a country with sun every day. The cold and rain is worsening my health condition,” he adds.

“Without money, we do not exist any more in France,” explains Eddy, a 35-year-old homeless man from Tunisia who originally came to France in search of a better life. That dream now lies shattered on the streets of the capital.

But studies have shown that Parisians tend to have more sympathetic attitudes towards the homeless than residents of many other European cities.

According to a 2009 study, 75 percent of French people felt some degree of solidarity with those sleeping on the streets and 56 percent said they could imagine one day being in the same position.

Every night, dozens of volunteers patrol the city’s streets ‘en maraudes’, searching out those in need of a blanket, a paracetamol or just a conversation.

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“In Paris, it is impossible to die from hunger. There are so many good organisations providing us with a free meal every day,” says Hicham, a homeless man who is originally from Morocco and carries with him a book that Paris’ City Hall has created listing the social services available to those in need.

But according to campaign group Morts de la Rue, 400 homeless people died across France in 2017. Many organisations believe the real number to be much higher.

“Some ask for money, some for food. Cold is our worst enemy,” explains Nasser, a homeless man originally from Algeria. “But the indifference of the people is an obstacle that is difficult to overcome.

“The solitude of our lives can happen to anyone. The people of Paris need to understand that we just want a smile or a simple ‘bonjour’. That can make a cold day not be hell for us.”

A fan of the writer Victor Hugo and the artist Picasso, Nasser explains: “There is beauty in every corner of our lives, but this society has lost sensibility. Ideas have disappeared and money is making this society blind to love.”

 Across Europe, the far right is on the rise and it has some of the continent’s most diverse communities in its crosshairs.

To the far right, these neighbourhoods are ‘no-go zones’ that challenge their notion of what it means to be European.

To those who live in them, they are Europe. Watch them tell their stories in This is Europe. 

With thanks to the team and volunteers of Secours Catholique, Medecins Du Monde, Secours Populaire and Association Aurore who helped make this article possible.

This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
A man from Romania sits on the street where he sleeps in front of one of the most popular shopping centres in the French capital. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
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This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Chinese tourists walk along an avenue illuminated with Christmas decorations adjacent to the Champs Elysees, where several of the capital's most expensive and exclusive boutiques are located. The average price per square metre for residences in Paris is approximately 9,000 euros ($10,225). But that jumps to more than 20,000 euros ($22,721) in some areas, such as that around the Champs Elysees, which also has the highest retail rental costs in Europe. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Jean Philippe, left, and Marie Louise pose for a photo during their weekly encounter with the team of volunteers from the organisation Secours Populaire. Sixty-five-year-old Marie Louise has spent the past five years living on the streets of Paris and says the cold is her biggest enemy. She recounts an incident when she tried to take shelter in a public car park but was attacked by a security guard and his guard dog. Jean Philippe, who says he used to be a guitarist, has been homeless for many years. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Gabriel, left, and Frank lay on the street where they sleep. Frank suffers from a cardiovascular illness, while Gabriel has rheumatic problems. Both have been living on the streets of Paris for more than 10 years. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Jean Philippe waits by a Secours Populaire van as volunteer Lucia prepares a hot drink for him. Every day a team of volunteers from Secours Populaire drive around the city providing food, drinks and toiletries to those living on the streets and, perhaps most importantly of all, taking time to talk to those who say they are often overlooked and ignored by the rest of society. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
A homeless man sleeps in the doorway of a building in the city centre. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
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This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Dominic smokes a cigarette while sitting on the street where he sleeps. Residents of the neighbourhood say they have tried to offer him help but that he is reluctant to accept it. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Taxis line up by the entrance of one of the most exclusive hotels in the French capital. Paris is one of the three most visited cities in the world and is particularly popular during the Christmas period. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Homeless people sleep on the grounds of a building in the French capital. Some of the older people who sleep here have been doing so for the past 15 years, but now construction plans for the building risk pushing them out of the only 'home' they've known for years. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Thirty-year-old Hassam speaks to friends inside a centre run by Secours Catholique, Maison Caritas Batignolles. Hassam is originally from Morocco but left when he was 17, heading first to the south of Spain, where his father worked. There, Hassam found work picking fruit. But then the financial crisis struck. For the past five years, he has lived in a house in France that does not have any electricity. He searches through the streets for items that have been discarded by others but which he might be able to sell in the city's street markets. 'I would like to return to Spain. Here, life is very expensive and for people like me, there is no future,' he says. 'In Spain, I earned less but life was much easier.' [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Twenty-five-year-old Weles looks out of a window at the Centre d'Hebergement d'Urgence Ivry Massena, run by Association Aurore, where he lives. Weles fled conflict in Sudan in 2014. He first went to Libya, where, for two years, he worked as an electrician. 'In my time in Libya, the hardest thing was to suffer constant racism and discrimination,' he says. Before obtaining refugee status in France, Weles travelled by dinghy to Italy with 120 others on board. He was held at a migration centre in Sicily but escaped and made his way to France. He now works as a painter on the outskirts of Paris. 'I am impressed by the history of France,' he says. 'I am also a big fan of Victor Hugo, who I studied in school, and I learned from his books to never lose hope.' [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
A homeless man puts his hand on top of a radiator inside the Maison Caritas Batignolles, run by Secours Catholique. Many of those living on the streets identify the cold as their worst enemy. Those who come to the centre every morning, take any opportunity they can to warm up by holding teapots or resting their hands on radiators. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Lamiel Hughes, 44, sits on his bed inside the Centre d'Hebergement d'Urgence Ivry Massena, run by Association Aurore. For a long time, he worked in the hospitality industry, but in recent years he started to experience psychological problems and became suicidal. 'The way people look at you when you are in a situation like mine is one of the hardest things I have experienced in my life,' he says. After years of poverty and isolation, Association Aurore is helping him to recover and get his life back on track, and he is now working in hospitality once again. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Originally from Cote d'Ivoire, 33-year-old Jean left his country when he was five and moved to Italy, where his parents worked. 'When my parents left my country, I was a little boy. All my life, I have felt that capitalism stole my parents and my childhood,' he says. Jean finished high school in Italy but struggled to find a job in a country where he says he experienced constant racism. He ended up living on the streets of Milan. Then someone he thought was a friend, persuaded him to move to France, promising him a better life there. But he again found himself on the streets. 'We are stigmatised by this society,' he says. 'The way that people look at us, together with the solitude of the streets, in the hardest part of my existence. In this society, we no longer have love for others; money is everything and if someone does not have money, they do not exist. I do not care about money any more, but rather about loving the people that I meet every day.' [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Thirty-five-year-old Eddy plays scrabble with volunteers and other homeless people inside the Maison Caritas Batignolles. Originally from Tunisia, Eddy left his country in search of a better life but ended up living on the streets. 'Here, without papers, we cannot work and we have no rights to social benefits,' he says. 'I just want a chance to work and have a very normal life.' [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
This is Europe: An image of homelessness in Paris
Fifty-year-old Kemal poses for a photo inside the structure he has constructed to provide him with a little shelter. Originally from Turkey, Kemal has been living on the streets of Paris for the past two months, after suffering health problems that forced him to quit his job as a driver. 'Despite what [former president, Nicolas] Sarkozy once said, about how those who work more will earn more, nowadays, the more you work, the less you earn as the cost of living is increasing faster than salaries in France,' he says. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]