Coronavirus: food distribution is organized in Paris, associations under pressure

Text by: Géraud Bosman-Delzons Follow

As the French live their second week of confinement, the issue of street people remains crucial, beyond the only problem of housing. Massive distribution of meals, phone calls, fitness classes via webcam ... The associations are hard at work and adapt quickly to a complex situation.

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1 p.m. Tuesday March 24, on the forecourt of the Saint-Ambroise church (11th arrondissement). Two rows of trestles take shape on either side of the circular garden and meet in front of the distribution table where a string of small white bags rests. Inside, a lentil and pea salad, a piece of bread and cheese, a dessert cream, an apple and a cookie.

Emilie, a regular volunteer in the parish, took her time from teleworking to come and lend a hand. " There were a few people at the start, and then others came in sparse, " she noted. Of the 370 bags delivered in the morning by truck, only 145 were donated, often two per person. " The word has not yet started to circulate, " continues the volunteer to explain the low attendance, which should very much increase by the end of the week.

The food distribution operation was launched simultaneously in many points of the capital, on Tuesday. Initiated by the City of Paris, half funded by it and the other by the State. Upstream of the chain, production is carried out by the Aurore association, which was over 150 years ago. She is responsible for recovering the supplies from the Dupont Restauration company " which has reopened and recalled its employees ", specifies François Morillon, head of the NGO. Aurore makes the baskets on three sites: Barbès (18th), Grands Voisins (14th), Carreau du Temple (3rd). In total, 5,500 bags per day, for the moment, are prepared. They are then distributed to all of the partners' distribution points, including 500 in Aulnay (Seine-Saint-Denis).

Thanks to its network of parishes, the diocese has set up a distribution of 1,300 meals in around twenty of them. Saint-Ambroise is the biggest site. This is explained by the fact that the 200 daily meals distributed in normal times by the Sisters of Charity, rue Oberkampf, are not anymore, the congregation having had to temporarily close its doors, for lack of being able to keep pace. By means of a poster, its usual beneficiaries were redirected to the neighboring church. As long as they can read.

This is the case of Joachim, who leaves with his packed lunch. This 45-year-old Belgian lived in Marseille eight months ago. He ran a small fish restaurant there. Default of orders, bankruptcy, separation. His wife has looked after their child. He went up to Paris " to start from scratch ". " It's my 243rd day on the street, " he said, with a quick mind but looking dejected. The virus does not worry him so much. He also notes that around him, especially in his " group of 23 close friends ", none are sick. His hypothesis, to explain it, he draws from an observation: " people flee us, much more than before, they are afraid. " We will all tell you the same thing: we rather think about where we are going to sleep, " he continues. Access to stations is restricted. "The day before yesterday, the police kicked me up at the Gare de l'Est ." The offices of the Massy-Palaiseau day center, where it is postally attached, have closed; the marauders have evaporated with the exodus and the too advanced age of the majority of the volunteers. “ We are left to our own devices. Before, I used to meet six marauders a day, now it's more like one, ”he concluded before turning on his heels.

Joachim, 47, has lived in Paris for six months and sleeps on the night buses. The coronavirus epidemic does not worry him so much. GBD / RFI

If the housing problem was logically pointed out quickly enough, the roof is only part of the concern. The closure of the numerous reception centers scattered throughout the capital has cut short the food supply for 3,600 to 6,000 people on the street. “ In Paris, we die of cold, loneliness, lack of hygiene, but no hunger. But with the sudden closings of places of conviviality, we said that we had to intervene, ”explains François Desprez, in charge of solidarity with the Archbishop of Paris. This means a change in the relationship: “ To comply with sanitary rules, we are no longer in relationships and conviviality, but in distribution. Everyone takes their basket and leaves, ”he admits regretfully.

The announcement by the Head of State of " travel restrictions ", Monday March 16 at 8 pm, has given way to " a period of floating " for a whole week, because of the " gradual gravity ", resumes François Desprez. Another actor, well introduced, said to him frankly " appalled by the lack of responsiveness and preparation " of the public authorities, dismissing the prefecture and town hall back to back. “ We guessed it on Friday [March 13, the day after Emmanuel Macron's first intervention] that the confinement would fall. We should have been operational within 48 hours. People struggled for a week. And to admit that, in associations without their volunteers, " things take much longer ".

" If we look at our neighboring countries, we know that the hardest part is ahead of us, we have to reorganize as best as possible ", predicts François Morillon who is also annoyed by the lack of stock of masks and gels, so that " it is essential, just like the Ehpad ".

All this logistics requires a lot of strength to hold on ... until May 31. It already mobilizes hundreds of volunteers and employees from different operators. Again, the Church is armed. " We no longer have our usual volunteers, but a rebalancing has taken place: lots of young people are without activity ", positive François Desprez. Respect for confinement? “ The President of the Republic has been clear: we are not putting the most vulnerable aside. So all our volunteers have authorizations. Here again, there is a complex balance to be found: turning volunteers around without multiplying them in order to avoid spreading.

Parish of Sainte-Ambroise, March 24. GBD / RFI

This operation is only one example of what is done elsewhere in terms of food distribution. The Red Cross, Restos du Coeur, Secours populaire, Secours Catholique, Salvation Army, Emmaüs Solidarité and many others, whether or not partners in this operation, are continuing their own actions. The Samu social de Paris, for example, has already launched a call for donations of restaurant tickets, is continuing the distribution of SNCF food parcels and will open a day reception center at the Carreau du Temple next week.

URGENT ! The health crisis weakens access to food resources for people who are homeless or precarious. We collect your donations of lunch vouchers & restaurant tickets. @ BNPParibas initiates the movement by offering us 20,000 tickets.

We are counting on you ! # covid19 pic.twitter.com/hOiWgDSz7y

" We are facing two emergencies ," explains the communication from the Samu social de Paris, which also learns to adapt to internal constraints, to do more with less. The first is access to sanitary facilities: many public toilets and baths have closed. The second is food. However, the homeless are not the only category affected: there are all families staying in social hotels. This represents 46,000 people in Ile-de-France. "

Homeless people were estimated in January at 142,000 people in France. In reality, they would be 250 to 300,000.

Prostitution: the upset daily life of Nigerian women

In the squares of the screen, silhouettes sway to the rhythm of American Boy , of Estelle. Some lift small dumbbells or bottles of soft drink, while others do squats, a child jumps. Others simply show their faces, often smiling, and challenge themselves joyfully, in a mixture of French and English. They are a good ten each day to connect on the House application. " The 4pm meeting is an important moment for them, " explains Louise de Carrere, manager of the Bakhita antenna, of the association of Captives, the Liberation, an association for helping street people created there is 40 years old. " It lasts an hour, but it's not very structured: they come when they want, leave when they want. They are hyper connected with each other, all day long. "

They are Nigerians. Between the ages of 18 and 35, they generally arrived in France through human trafficking networks. Over time, by dint of evening tours in the outskirts of Paris, on the boulevards and around the stations, the association builds loyalty every week. Nearly fifteen new heads pass the door of the permanence of the 9th arrondissement. Captives apply a key principle: unconditional reception. " This means that we welcome everyone, without asking where the person came from or how they got there, " says the social worker. Over time, a certain number manage to get out of the "edge of the world". “ Some have been regularized, found work or training supplemented by state aid, others are in demand. Among them, around twenty each day ask us to be directed to places of food distribution. Usually, in our tours, we do not provide for this kind of need. "

Outstanding resilience

Because for these women too, the activities stopped overnight. The woods have been deserted by men, " often husbands, who pass there after their work. They can't do it anymore . ” But above all, these girls have returned to the fold themselves: at the hotel, with third parties, sublet, accommodation center. “ They pay very special attention to their hygiene. They immediately took the instructions seriously. To the best of their knowledge, no woman accompanied by the antenna has been infected to date.

In order not to break the bonds of trust forged during the receptions and art therapy workshops, so as not to let a feeling of abandonment invade these hyper vulnerable people, Louise and the two social workers redouble their imagination and presence: fitness class therefore, ephemeral sculpture workshop based on objects from the home, and especially the telephone marauding. “ We have a listing of 250 numbers. The idea is to manage to call them all at least once in a week. For the most fragile, it's every day. They are particularly pleased with this phone call , ”said the manager.

“ What strikes me most is their enormous capacity for resilience. Some even call to hear from you. They have developed an ability to absorb trauma one after the other. Misery, violence, Libya ... the virus hardly seems to scare them.

The consequences, on the other hand, are penalizing. Louise de Carrere dreads above all post-confinement: “We will have to be vigilant about the mental health of these women. They never complain and never express their needs. It's amazing . ” And difficult at the same time, because needs are sometimes necessities. So could this forced exit from the street for containment be a stepping stone to a final exit? “ We are indeed wondering about the long-term effects. We know that everyone suffers every time they go to the wood. The return to the woods will be particularly painful or even impossible for certain, I am convinced. We will do our best to support them . "

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