Olesia Bolhunovska has a very approximate command of the French language. But, when we ask this 41-year-old Ukrainian what she felt when she received, on October 7, a letter asking her to return the accommodation, rented by an association, that she occupies in Thionville (Moselle), the words fuse: “It was a shock, a panic. » Originally from Kharkiv, she fled Ukraine in March 2022 with her mother, aged 63, and her 11-year-old son: “Volunteers brought us from the Polish border to Luxembourg. From there, we went to Thionville, where I had a friend. At first, I didn't try too hard. I thought the conflict would not last. But it drags on and the situation is more difficult every day in Kharkiv. »
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Since the end of September, in the Grand-Est region, dozens of displaced people like her have been ordered to return the accommodation that had been made available to them by the associations, most often by October 31, the eve of the winter break. Ukrainian associations admit that in other regions, “the transition to other accommodation was managed in advance, smoothly, without major tensions”but note that, in the East, “the support through integration did not go to the end”.
The local accommodation associations, at the origin of the eviction letters, say they are acting at the request of state services. Some letters received by the displaced detail the reasons for this decision: “All the necessary steps for professional integration and empowerment have not been sufficiently carried out in order to enroll you in a path of global integration in the territory”indicates a letter signed by the Meurthe-et-Moselle Reception and Social Reintegration Association. She then invites those concerned to find a personal rehousing solution: “Failing this, referral to emergency accommodation could be offered, provided places are available. »
Ukrainian displaced persons benefit from a special status within the European Union: a temporary residence permit. In France, their accommodation is based on rental intermediation: thanks to state subsidies, associations rent apartments which they provide to displaced people. “This transitional measure is accompanied by a commitment to do everything possible to move towards a lasting housing solution, the State not having the vocation of ensuring the definitive care of people”recalls the prefecture of Meurthe-et-Moselle. Of the 1,600 displaced people welcomed in the department, only 591, in 228 housing units, benefit from it.
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