We know it, finding accommodation in Paris is not always easy. Vacant, unsanitary housing, or whose prices exceed established ceilings… Finding a decent apartment can be a real obstacle course when you can't afford to buy. But for some, this ordeal can turn into real hell on a daily basisas is the case of Jianqui. For two years, this Parisian has lived in a 6 m2 accommodationrented for the modest sum of… 460€ per month. An illegal lease, which she was forced to accept due to lack of other options available in this budget. In front of the cameras of BFM Paris Île-de-Franceshe opens the doors of her small space, which would be difficult to describe as real accommodation.
« I sleep on the floor every day »
A shower, a sink and some things piled up in bags against the wall : this is the almost exhaustive list of what Jianqui, 63 years old, can fit into her 6m2 in which she has lived for 2 years. Located on the 5th floor of a building without elevatorin the 16th, with the toilets located on the landingthe sixty-year-old's home looks more like a broom closet than a real apartment. And for good reason: the legislation in force normally prohibits owners from renting accommodation of less than 9m². Despite everything, Jianqui pays nearly €460 per month for this tiny room, i.e. more than €76 per m2a price almost 2.5 times higher than the average price per m2 of an apartment in Paris (1).
Every evening, the sixty-year-old is forced to sleep on a small mattress placed on the floorwhich she tries to slip between her things and the work surface she uses to cook. The day, she places it against the wall so that she can move around. « I sleep on the floor with this mattress every day », she explains on the microphone of BFM TV. “ In winter it is not very hot and in summer it is very hot. Sometimes I don't sleep not (…). I'm afraid of getting sick ».
Help that is slow to be felt
Part-time waitress, Jianqui only earns 775€ per month. A meager salary which forces her to find accommodation in these conditions. The tenant was DALO recognized by the prefecture in February 2024, an appeal which allows it to be given priority for the allocation of social housing. Despite this, she never received any offers.
Jianqui's situation is unfortunately far from being an isolated case. According to the Droit au Logement association, four million people are poorly housed in France despite 3.1 million vacant homes. A phenomenon that is all the more important in Île-de-France, where there are nearly 300,000 vacant homes. udoes not work for the requisition of these accommodations is organized this Sunday January 5 from Saint-Lazare station in Paris.
(1) Source : seloger.com
France
