While the traders of Place Garibaldi complain of nuisances and the presence of many homeless people, the associations continue to come to the aid of the latter, in particular through maraudes.
Despite the complaints, the volunteers continue their missions. This Wednesday, December 18, around thirty traders from Place Garibaldi sent a petition to Nice town hall to complain about the nuisance they experience on a daily basis.
The latter, in particular restaurateurs, denounced the “deterioration” of their “living conditions”, through repeated incivility caused by alcoholic homeless people located near Mamac, according to them.
Guest of BFM Nice Côte d'Azur on December 19, Anthony Borré, first deputy to the city, assured that the town hall would issue an order prohibiting the sale of alcohol between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. on Place Garibaldi. The Horizons elected official, however, admitted that this solution “will not solve everything”.
An increasing number of beneficiaries
For their part, the associations continue to carry out raids among the homeless in the neighborhood. These actions are criticized by several local residents, convinced that they would encourage the homeless to stay where they are.
“As soon as there is a problem, as soon as something is not clear… It can only be the homeless, as they are people who cannot defend themselves or intervene,” laments Marie-Jo , volunteer at Secours Populaire, with BFM Nice Côte d’Azur.
In recent weeks, nuisances have been particularly noted during an evening. But according to Marie-Jo, who relies on the testimony of “someone who lives in Garibaldi”, these were not the fault of the homeless.
“When we are outside, we get depressed, we panic, we are no longer ourselves… People come to rob us, we beat each other up (…), they are always on the alert. And in the end , you're not good…”, continues the volunteer to explain the behavior of some of the homeless.
According to her, some of them are not able to be rehoused, because they have been living alone for some time and are not able to integrate into a reception structure.
Marie-Jo also notes the increase in the number of marauding beneficiaries. This Monday, December 23, around forty people were helped by Secours Populaire.
Alix Carreaux with Mathias Fleury
