The Abbé Pierre foundation organized the symbolic “Golden Peaks” ceremony this Monday, November 18, to elect the worst anti-homeless measures in France. The RATP is singled out for having walled up arches under the aerial metro on Boulevard de la Villette in Paris.
The RATP attracts the wrath of homeless rights activists. This Monday, November 18, the management was singled out during the “Pics d’or” ceremony, organized by the Abbé Pierre foundation for having walled up the arches of an elevated train where homeless people sometimes found refuge.
These are the arches of the line 2 aerial metro, on Boulevard de la Villette on the border between the 10th and 19th arrondissements of Paris, near the Colonel Fabien station. It was the Accès au Droit (CAD) collective, an observatory of attacks on the rights of people living on the streets, which spotted this work this fall.
Questioned by BFMTV.com, RATP denies having targeted the homeless. “The arches were closed during the work to consolidate the structure by concrete block walls which must be removed,” explains the communications department.
13.000 participants
This development was among three other “nominees” in a category open to public voting and in which nearly 13,000 people participated.
This satirical award ceremony for the worst anti-homeless measures had already taken place in 2019 and 2020. The Abbé Pierre foundation also offers, all year round, civil society to enrich a map in France and Europe on this type of arrangement.
The objective of this action is to alert people to the problem of homelessness which today affects 333,000 people in France, including 2,000 children. This figure has doubled in ten years.
For the Abbé Pierre Foundation and stakeholders in the sector, these anti-begging and anti-homeless measures contribute to pushing the poorest out of cities, making them invisible from public spaces and failing to address this social problem.
