When you think about Paris, you probably think of designers like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. Your mind probably conjures up images of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and you can practically taste the wine and cigarettes. You might even think about how great it would be to vacation there for a week or two. But one thing that probably doesn't exist in your personal version of Paris is the striking amount of homelessness.
According to The Economist's article "Down and out in Paris," France's capital is the "easiest" European city to be homeless in, largely due to the fact that the Parisian police are much more tolerant than others. The article goes on to explain that there aren’t any strong statistics about homelessness in Paris. The last significant estimate was done by France’s national statistics office (INSEE) in 2001, pegging the number somewhere around 12,000. However, it is believed that the number is much higher today.
I don't think I've gone one day in Paris so far without seeing at least one homeless person, or as the French say, un sans domicile fixe (Translation: one without a fixed residence). But based on my observations, the majority of homeless men and women here do seem to have a fixed location, it just isn't what one would imagine. I see the same men and women in the same spots of Paris each and every day. I know I will see the old woman with the little black dog in front of a bank on la Rue de Rennes on my walk home from school. I expect to see the same man kneeling in the middle of a crowded sidewalk on le Boulevard Saint Germain. A bit further down the road I see the balding man with glasses who lives on a bench. These people have very fixed locations, but one can only hope that they are not permanent.
According to The Economist's article "Down and out in Paris," France's capital is the "easiest" European city to be homeless in, largely due to the fact that the Parisian police are much more tolerant than others. The article goes on to explain that there aren’t any strong statistics about homelessness in Paris. The last significant estimate was done by France’s national statistics office (INSEE) in 2001, pegging the number somewhere around 12,000. However, it is believed that the number is much higher today.
I don't think I've gone one day in Paris so far without seeing at least one homeless person, or as the French say, un sans domicile fixe (Translation: one without a fixed residence). But based on my observations, the majority of homeless men and women here do seem to have a fixed location, it just isn't what one would imagine. I see the same men and women in the same spots of Paris each and every day. I know I will see the old woman with the little black dog in front of a bank on la Rue de Rennes on my walk home from school. I expect to see the same man kneeling in the middle of a crowded sidewalk on le Boulevard Saint Germain. A bit further down the road I see the balding man with glasses who lives on a bench. These people have very fixed locations, but one can only hope that they are not permanent.
I've also noticed that roughly around 75 percent of homeless people in Paris have a cat and/or a dog. Take for example, the man in the photo on the left. He sits outside a grocery store on le Boulevard Malesherbes every day with his pet cat. Even on the coldest afternoons I've seen him shivering in his light coat and a hat as I walk past bundled up in layers. He has a blanket, but chooses not to use it. Instead, he wraps it around his cat. I can't get that image out of my head, and it got me thinking about a lot of things.
Does this man think companionship is more important than basic survival needs, such as staying warm? Or is friendship essential in order to survive? I'm starting to think the latter must be true. It's incredibly disheartening, yet simultaneously beautiful, to see such a strong connection between a human and an animal. And unfortunately, sometimes that is the only real connection with another living being that these homeless men and woman have.
Tourists and Parisians alike walk past homeless people as if they are invisible, pretending to talk on their cell phones and not hear their pleas for spare change. But even after society telling him he doesn't exist, I see the man pictured above look at his cat and smile – a smile that shows more happiness than you could ever imagine. So what is more important – knowing that you have a roof over your head and four walls around you, or knowing that no matter your situation, you can always find love and happiness through human–animal interaction?
Does this man think companionship is more important than basic survival needs, such as staying warm? Or is friendship essential in order to survive? I'm starting to think the latter must be true. It's incredibly disheartening, yet simultaneously beautiful, to see such a strong connection between a human and an animal. And unfortunately, sometimes that is the only real connection with another living being that these homeless men and woman have.
Tourists and Parisians alike walk past homeless people as if they are invisible, pretending to talk on their cell phones and not hear their pleas for spare change. But even after society telling him he doesn't exist, I see the man pictured above look at his cat and smile – a smile that shows more happiness than you could ever imagine. So what is more important – knowing that you have a roof over your head and four walls around you, or knowing that no matter your situation, you can always find love and happiness through human–animal interaction?