FRANCE: DIOCESES TAKING ACTION FOR THE HOUSING EMERGENCY AND RISING COST OF LIVING

Solidarity of the Church with the families and the young couples looking for a house in a property market that is becoming more and more selective due to inaccessible prices, especially in the areas around the big metropolis of Paris, in the departments of Hauts-de-Seine and Ile-de-France. This is the start of the "Solidarieté logement" campaign, promoted by the diocese of Nanterre in conjunction with the Labour Mission, Caritas and the Abbé Pierre Foundation, which drew up a file about the property market and its consequences on the lives of 4 million families that every year set out in search of a house. According to the file, only 800 thousand of such families have access to a property. For the others – especially if they have a limited budget –, it is the start of a "truly difficult process, which often turns into social deterioration as a first step". "Can Christians – writes father Bernard Cheveau, delegate for the diocese of Nanterre to the Labour Mission – wash their hands of the fate of these brothers and sisters of ours?" The "Solidarieté logement" campaign, promoted by the diocese of Nanterre, includes an awareness-raising day on Sunday 10th February. Paris too is taking action through a series of events focussed on such problem to be held during the Charity Festival.