With placing the right symbol at right place and time the advocacy group drew attention to the issue of homelessness in France as members began camping out in red tents in Paris last month.
The right to housing may seem revolutionary, but it is a right enshrined in some fashion in at least twenty-five U.S. state constitutions. Moreover, it is a federal constitutional right in South Africa, and is also a right under international human rights law.
One hundred days from the presidential elections and a few days before Christmas 2006 the campaign started and is still a head liner in french press and magazines. Choosing Canal St.-Martin, in the 10th Arrondissement of Paris, as camping place the demand ‘a home for homeless people’ was no longer ignorable.
The protest then started to spread to other cities, including Orléans, Toulouse and Lyon, and has been picked up by politicians as the presidential campaign gets under way. More than 80,000 people are homeless in France and now the campaign forced the french government to tackle this problem within weeks.
President Jacques Chirac ordered the housing right during his New Year’s eve address Dec. 31. De Villepin said the cabinet will approve a law Jan. 17 providing an extra 120,000 housing units per year through 2012.
Homepage: Les Enfants de Don Quichotte
Politicscentral.com: The “Don Quixote Kids” of Paris
Liberation.fr: Canal Saint-Martin, des tentes difficiles à démonter
Bloomberg.com: Villepin Promises French Housing Right After Homeless Protests
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