a gymnasium occupied by 39 homeless people, the majority of whom are children
With the cold that sets in permanently, they had no other solutions. Forty people have been occupying, since Sunday, December 5, a gymnasium in the center of Toulouse with the support of several associations to obtain accommodation for 39 homeless people, the majority of whom are children, found a journalist from Agence France Presse.
“A roof is the law”, is written on a banner unfurled at the entrance of this gymnasium which is located on the square of the Saint-Sernin basilica, a masterpiece of Romanesque art in the historic center of Toulouse, 500 meters from the Place du Capitole.
“For weeks we had been sleeping in the street, all over Toulouse. It’s good Toulouse but outside it’s too cold. Here, we are better”, says with a smile Yamna, 43 years old, arrived from Algeria there is three months with her husband and three children aged 7 to 17.
The authorities “do nothing”
This occupation is supported by several associations of Haute-Garonne, including the DAL (Right to Housing), the Federation of Parents’ Councils (FCPE), the Education Without Borders Network (RESF) or the Human Rights League (LDH).
For the DAL, the authorities “do nothing”, while “these families have been sleeping in the streets for several weeks”, which “was confirmed” during a meeting with the Prefecture on Friday evening, motivating the occupation of the gymnasium, further specifies the association.
The Prefecture cannot study “every administrative situation”
On the other hand, according to Prefecture, replace what may have happened on other occasions, the DAL did not provide the necessary elements for the “identification of persons” and the event of examination of their “precise situation”.
It was therefore impossible to consider “studying each administrative situation, which can be different from one person to another or from one family to another “, the Prefecture added.
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