Winter promises to be harsh in the metropolis of Lyon. While the tragedy of the fire in a squat in Caluire has tragically brought to the fore the problem of emergency accommodation in the urban area, the issue of children on the street is also coming back in force to the winter is approaching.
According to a count carried out by Jamais sans roof, 375 children sleep on the streets in the metropolis, 39 of whom are under the age of three. An increase of “15”% compared to the year 2023, which had already been a record year. “That’s three times more than three years ago,” notes Jamais sans roof.
According to the collective, half of them are housed in schools in the area. A habit in Lyon for several years. Around twenty establishments are occupied.
Children on the street in Lyon: occupied schools
In the second half of November alone, nine students accompanied by the collective took over the Paul-Émile Victor college in Rillieux-la-Pape. Three others occupy the Sarra school, in Lyon 5ᵉ. And the current political instability does not encourage optimism.
“The commitment made by the government in 2022 that no child would sleep on the street has never
been held. Last year, the adoption of an amendment aimed at creating 10,000 emergency accommodation places was swept aside by a 49.3. At the beginning of January 2024, in the middle of a cold spell, the Minister of Housing at the time had promised 120 million euros. No one has ever seen the color of it. As for the budget for the coming year…”Press release from Never Without Roof, dated December 4
Even more than emergency accommodation as such, the issue of children on the street is a big point of friction between local authorities and the State. If many groups recognize the work done by the City of Lyon on this subject, the objective (at the start of the mandate) of zero children on the street seems, every day, to move further and further away in Lyon, as in the metropolis.
A standoff between City and State
This year, the City even requested the expulsion of some of its gymnasiums, occupied by the Solidarité entre femmes à la rue collective. Actions which have, at times, strained relations between activists and elected officials.
Faced with this situation, several deputies tabled a motion for a resolution to oblige the State to find a home for these children. It is notably supported by the deputy for the 3rd constituency of Rhône, Marie-Charlotte Garin (NFP-Les Écologistes). She hopes that the vote will take place during a transpartisan parliamentary niche or the Ecologists group, at the earliest in early 2025.
In the meantime, parents continue to mobilize. A demonstration is notably planned for Friday December 6, at 12:30 p.m., in front of the Paul-Émile Victor college.
