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Activists camp out in Paris against housing law

Activists remained at Paris’s République Square on Sunday, in protest against a new law set forth by France’s Housing Minister Cécile Duflot. Protesters say they plan to stay the rest of the week, until their voices are heard.

France's Housing Minister Cécile Duflot.
France's Housing Minister Cécile Duflot. Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes
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Protesters first set up tents and massive banners on Saturday, with some twenty people – including several families – joining activists. Housing rights organisation Right to Housing(DAL) says Duflot’s new housing law, passed on 17 September, is troubling.

“There are a few positive aspects, like increasing housing protection during the winter months, but the majority of the text is worrying to us,” DAL spokesperson Jean-Baptiste Eyraud told the AFP news agency, “especially rent controls, which will most certainly push prices up.”

The law proposes an end to deposits in order to secure housing, but would inflict heavier penalties on those who don’t pay their rent. Specific financing for the plan has yet to be laid out, but will most likely include regular contributions by owners and tenants.

One woman participating in the protest, who has been living with her daughter in a hotel in the 9th arrondissement of Paris since 2010, says the law doesn’t address the central issue of Paris’s housing crisis.

“In the end, the text does not take into account our problems, and doesn’t offer any solutions to ensuring long-term housing,” Diaby told the AFP news agency.

Protesters say they will remain at République until at least 5 October.

A July report by France’s national statistics agency Insee showed that 141,500 people were without a fixed residency in the country, with more than 30,000 of those being children.

 

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