A homeless person won over passers-by with his miniature castle, the town hall wants to dismantle it
” It makes you bitch, it doesn’t bother anyone, and it’s pretty, frankly “, Plague Laurent Mahout, 38, a resident of this residential suburb of Toulouse, who is used to taking his 6-year-old daughter there on Sundays, a day during which David, the 53-year-old homeless, organizes volunteer creative workshops for children.
The fairytale-like cabin appeared on the banks of the Touch River in the spring, adjoining a public footpath marked by sports enthusiasts and walkers.
The construction, lined with trees and fake lampposts and a stuffed animal tree, is actually a makeshift house for David, a former campsite or leisure center leader.
” One day an elderly lady passed in front of my tent and said to me: ‘it’s not very clean’. So I included that », Explains the SDF with a smile.
“More pleasant to see than a tent”
In the street for a year and a half, after his apartment was squatted, he hopes to stay in his home until the end of winter and rails against the method used by the town hall to dislodge him.
Made only of foam, recovered from a waste dumpster, then cut and repainted by him, the shelter was gradually transformed into a real miniature castle. ” I did this for passersbyhe said. It’s still more pleasant to see than a tent. »
“ The hut has evolved over the months, it’s great, it’s magic “, reports Souhail Amirouch, 28, a resident of the district, who did not know ” not that anyone lived in it “.
” It’s foam so if it catches fire the person can die and it could spread “, fears a spokesperson for the town hall, specifying that in the event of a fire, “ the responsibility of the mayor could be engaged because the treehouse is on public property.
However, the municipality defends itself from pushing the man to the street. ” The formal notice is extended until a solution is found. “, she says, specifying that she wants “ deal with the social aspect before deciding on the fate of the makeshift shelter.