Winter is over

Today, 15 March, we had lunch on the terrace in the office whilst the sun was shining from a blue sky and burning our pale faces. It was such a relief to know that my first real winter in 10 years was finally coming to an end! However, spring does not seem to come as a relief for everybody.

Last night on the news they interviewed a couple; he was 83 and incommunicative, and she was 76 and close to tears. They had fallen behind on their rent and were now getting ready to be evicted, but where do you go when you are close to 80 and have no job and no money? I have the impression that there is not much help to find anywhere.

In France there is a law prohibiting evictions between 1 November and 15 March, but as from 6 am on 15 March tenants can be evicted again. This is why the old couple was getting ready to leave. The protection is known as la trêve hivernale, but I have never come upon anything similar in other countries. It is "kind" to protect people during the cold winter months - and yet.... Isn't it just evidence of the fact that the government knows that people who are evicted are at serious risk of ending up in the street? Why would one otherwise protect tenants during the coldest months?

Where the government cannot or will not help, associations and foundations have to step in, and this seems to be accepted in France. In Denmark we would expect the public sector to help but certainly not the private sector.  We consider that we have a right to help and that we don't have to beg for it.

Where do the people threatened with eviction or already in the street go? In France the Fondation Abbé Pierre, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is the association dedicated to people with housing problems. It seems to be a growing problem due to the increase in rents and in electricity and heating costs. Thus the number of requests for evictions would have increased by 26% over the least 10 years!  link 

The founder Abbé Pierre, a catholic priest, is an important personality in post-war French society.  I admit to admiring him, even though I am an atheist. However, it seems that he saw his role in life to help the needy and not to convert them to catholicism, so I can justify my admiration for his work.... For further reading about Abbé Pierre, who founded Emmaüs and the branch Fondation Abbé Pierre, read here: link It makes very interesting reading. Abbé Pierre died in 2007, and I remember watching the funeral on TV, though at the time I had no real knowledge of this priest's influence on French society.

In this spring where the French have to elect a new president (or keep the old) I cannot help add at the end of this article a clip with Abbé Pierre and Nicolas Sarkozy from a TV show. Enjoy (if you speak French, that is): link