Pascale Dietrich-Ragon

(Interview from May 2017)

To begin with, their socio-demographic profiles are very different. The population that migrated to France includes more women, is younger and has more families with children. The groups’ trajectories are also quite distinct. Respondents from the majority population (defined as French-born with two parents born in France, including in the country’s overseas departments and territories) have generally experienced loss of their residence; this is much less the case for migrants, many of whom have never had their own residence in France. For French-born homeless, then, life events are usually what led to residential loss, whereas for homeless persons of foreign background, the problem is more one of gaining initial access to the French rental market. One reason many cannot do so is their undocumented status. Moreover, illiteracy can be an obstacle to carrying out the relevant administrative procedures. Many migrants find themselves in situations of extreme destitution due to their isolation within French society. And yet despite these difficulties, they are less marginalized than majority-population homeless: more tend to be working and they are in better health.
Within the immigrant population, diverse trajectories have led to homelessness. For some it was the particular moment they arrived in France. Their residential insecurity follows on considerable difficulties that began before they migrated, and it is often related to their undocumented status. Others, particularly persons in urban contexts where affordable housing is in short supply, have gone without their own place to live for years and find themselves confined to the institutional accommodation system. The third case is migrants who once had housing in France but lost it, often due to life event such as job loss or marital breakdown.