On 28 February 2019 the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Kahn v. France (no. 12267) that the failure to provide care for an unaccompanied minor after the dismantling of the makeshift camps set up in the southern section of the "lande de Calais" was in violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights prohibiting inhuman and degrading treatment. The Court ruled that failure to provide care had been already extremely problematic before the southern section of the camp had been dismantled and become even worse after the operation due of the demolition of his hut in which he had been living.
The practices reported to me by residents of the encampments around Calais are a gross violation of the right to adequate housing under international human rights law. They also constitute violations of the rights to health, food, and to physical integrity. The systematic and repeated nature of these forced evictions during winter time suggest they also constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of one of the most vulnerable populations in France.
7. Substandard housing
There are an estimated 2 million residents in France living in private or public housing considered to be substandard, failing to meet minimum criteria for habitability and/or exposing residents to health risks[1]. While overall the average quality of housing units in France is similar to other European countries, in Marseille, 40,000 housing units, are estimated to be insalubrious, and fail to meet standards of decent housing. Under national law, local governments have an obligation to inspect housing to ensure its safety and to protect tenants from being exposed to health risks caused by dilapidated housing. Authorities also have an obligation to ensure that private owners maintain property conditions to standards that comply with international human rights law. I learned that for many years, the City of Marseille did not employ a single individual with the necessary training to undertake such checks, and that even now this responsibility is carried out by insufficient staff.
On 5 November 2018, two buildings collapsed in the Noailles neighbourhood of Marseille killing 8 people and displacing over 100 residents. This incident triggered a wave of emergency evacuations affecting more than 2,400 residents living in over 300 buildings. Five months after the disaster the majority of evacuated households are living in hotel rooms. Of particular note and concern is that local authorities disregarded calls from the residents of Noailles who for many years tried to alert them to the risk of disaster posed by the dilapidated state of their homes.
I also spoke to affected residents who feel that they are being prematurely asked to return to their homes and to recommence paying rent, despite inadequate conditions and ongoing risks.
8. Quartiers Prioritaires de la Politique de la Ville (QPV)
For several years now, the Government has been implementing urban renewal programmes to improve living conditions, access to transportation, work and education in urban areas that are marked by high concentration of poverty, referenced since 2014 as Quartier Prioritaires de la Politique de la Ville (QPV). According to French authorities, 42.2% of QPV residents live below the poverty line, compared to just 14.3% for the general population. In 2016, the unemployment rate in QPV areas was 25.3%, compared to 9.9% in other urban neighbourhoods. 74% of QPV residents live in low-income social housing, compared to just 16% elsewhere in France. These units are more likely to be overpopulated, with over 20% of QPV residents facing either moderate or acute overpopulation in their household (compared to just 12.5% elsewhere in France). The units located in QPV are also smaller than those located in the other districts tending toward overcrowding. QPV residents are also significantly more likely to live in a home with one or more serious defects, such as faulty wiring or a crumbling exterior.
QPV neighbourhoods within large cities tend to have higher rates of employment and less economic disadvantage than those found on the outskirts of the city[2]. QPV residents are less likely to have access to a car and as a result are more reliant on public transport than residents living in the inner city. Many suburbs, however, have been for many years notoriously underserved by the public transport system.
In Clichy-Sous-Bois, where many residents are living in deplorable housing conditions I was told by residents that they feel isolated from the rest of Paris. Residents complained that, despite being only 10 kilometers from the center, there is no direct transportation to the city and hope that the construction of a tramway will improve their situation. They also noted that in the evening, city buses
