See online: Collective for the Future of Hostels - COPAF http://www.copaf.ouvaton.org/ --- 30 YEARS OF THE PTFTM ---- Plan for the "Treatment" of Immigrant Workers' Hostels ---- April 1996. Following a series of laws intended to tighten immigration and naturalization laws, Henri Cuq submitted his report, written at the request of Alain Juppé, on "The Situation and Future of Immigrant Workers' Hostels." This was followed in 1997 by the law creating "social residences" and the plan to close down the former workers' hostels-permanent housing for workers living apart from their families-and replace them with "social residences," temporary housing intended to help vulnerable people of all kinds transition to mainstream housing.
For thirty years, activists from Copaf[1]and delegates from the hostels have been fighting to have their demands for basic dignity heard, demands that arose from the rent strikes at Sonacotra hostels and others in the years 1975-80:
- Tenant rights for hostel residents, with the same guarantees, the same protections, and the same treatment;
- Participation in plans and projects for the rehabilitation, reconstruction, or renovation of the hostels' former buildings;
- Consideration of residents' demands for the right to a full and complete private life and to a communal life organized according to their needs.
Since then, two and a half billion euros have been spent on millions of square meters of plasterboard, supposedly symbolizing the triumph of "total individualization," the great improvement in comfort and dignity provided to residents, which is the stated publicity goal of the operation.
In reality, and hidden behind a vocabulary riddled with euphemisms, the goal is to dismantle the hostels, to destroy community life, to obliterate the residents' rights to self-determination, and to replace permanent housing with temporary accommodation. It's about transforming the buildings to change their population and their functioning. It's a kind of disguised social and ethnic cleansing, carried out subtly and through homeopathic violence, drop by drop, week after week, designed to avoid any direct confrontation.
The Copaf, its activists, its supporters, and its delegates cannot let this "anniversary" pass without making a statement, without drawing the attention of the prominent elites who govern us and are supposed to represent us, without addressing public opinion and saying: beware, oppression, discrimination, and segregation are currently at work in French society.
This is why we propose working on a "Month of Celebrations for Hostels" from October 31 to December 6, 2026. The idea is to organize public debates in five cities where hostels are an important part of the social history and urban fabric, possibly followed by meals and/or musical performances. These debates will present the perspectives of delegates, residents, politicians, and community organizations on this entire program and on the remaining points of resistance. The cities being considered are the 20th arrondissement of Paris, Saint-Denis, Montreuil, Vitry-sur-Seine, and Boulogne-Billancourt.
The month will conclude with a final meeting, scheduled for Saturday, December 5, at the Salle Henaff in the Bourse du Travail (Labor Exchange). The goal is not only to publicize and raise awareness about this program and its effects, but also to prepare our collective engagement in the political elections of 2027.
All individuals and organizations wishing to participate in organizing these events are invited to contact us by email or phone.
COPAF
c/o Fédération DAL, 29 avenue Ledru Rollin, 75012 Paris
Tel: +33 6 87 61 29 77 or +33 6 75 01 30 49
Email: copaf[at]copaf.ouvaton.org
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Fridays from 2 pm to 6 pm, Saturday mornings by appointment
You can also contact OCL Ile de France to participate in this campaign.
Notes
[1]Collective for the Future of Hostels
https://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4758
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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