France

COLLECTIF EN JEU

Collectif EN JEU is the Homeless World Cup Partner in France. As a collective of a number of associations and other organisations, they organise sports events as well as cultural programmes for disadvantaged people.

Originally organised by the Parisian collective “Remise en jeu,” Team France have been participating in the Homeless World Cup since 2004. Since 2011, Collectif EN JEU, based in and around Montpellier, have taken on the organisation of the annual national tournament “Tournoi national de la solidarité” (National Solidarity Tournament). They are also in charge of the selection, training, and preparation of the French Team prior to the Homeless World Cup.

ORGANISATION DETAILS

PARTICIPANTS

Homeless men and women living in supported accommodation or in hostels.

LOCATIONS

Avignon, Lille, Marseille, Montauban, Paris, Poitiers, Rodez, Vesoul and Montpellier.

Country statistics

26 out of 189 in Human Development Index rating
(UNDP, 2019)

Average annual salary per person $39,480 (World Bank, 2021)

13.6% of population living under the national poverty line (UNDP, 2019)

France has a population of 62.8 million. Most of the population is concentrated in the north and southeast, although there are many urban areas throughout the country. Paris, the capital, is the largest city with a population of 11 million, and Lyon ranked a distant second with a population of 1.7 million (CIA Factbook, 2020).

France currently has 8.12% unemployment (including overseas territories) and 20.2% unemployment in youth ages 15-24 (CIA Factbook, 2020).

Homelessness in France results from both systemic and social barriers, including poverty, unemployment, rising rent, domestic violence, legal problems, drug abuse, mental and physical illness. Urban centres attract people from many parts of France, resulting in an increase in the demand for essential, including housing. As property prices skyrocket, there is a greater struggle to afford housing (Cauf Society, 2020).

Currently there are approximately 300,000 homeless people in France in 2021 (Staista, 2022). Around 185,000 people currently staying in shelters, 100,000 in temporary housing for people seeking asylum and 16,000 in slums (RFI, 2020).

As of December 2020, there were 455,295 refugees and persons under other forms of international protection in France. The main countries of origin are Afghanistan, Syria, Sri Lanka, Russia, and the DRC (UNHCR, 2021).

Homelessness is rising especially among immigrants – there are around 90,000 new immigrants in France every year, mostly from Eastern European countries (The Local, 2014). Roma people from Romania and Bulgaria make up the majority of people living in slums (FEANTSA, 2018).

There is a significant lack of temporary accommodation available through France’s housing system, which is often overwhelmed by the amount of emergency calls (EOH, 2018).

The Homeless World Cup took place in French capital, Paris, in 2011.