Authorities in Paris and its suburbs have launched their emergency winter plan to help house homeless people as temperatures drop and a man was found dead from exposure on a street in the capital.
Paris townhall has called on the police prefecture to put the plan into place over the weekend, referring to the "dramatic" situation of the several thousand homeless people in and around the city.
The Île-de-France prefecture announced the plan was necessary "given the latest weather forecasts from Météo-France for the coming days" and "the continued sub-zero temperatures at night".
The emergency winter plan allows for extended opening hours for daytime reception centres, increased outreach patrols and the requisitioning of premises to create emergency shelters for the homeless.
The prefecture said new spaces would be opened in addition to the 46,200 shelter spaces "made available year-round", and the 300 additional spaces that have been opened for the entire winter period in Paris.
Firefighters in the capital confirmed the death of a man on Sunday evening, who likely died from exposure. His body was discovered on a public road in northwest Paris. A review of CCTV footage showed he had been lying motionless on the ground in the same position since that morning.
The deceased, whose age was not specified, was identified by the manager of a nearby Emmaus shelter where he was staying, a police source said.
On top of what public services provide, many homeless people turn to local charities which organise distributions of clothing and food at several places around the city, including the Gare de l'Est train station and Place de la République.
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Keeping warm and fed
Every evening, 52-year-old Sylvain checks the weather forecast on his phone. "We look at the temperatures to know how to prepare," he told French news agency AFP as he collected a sleeping bag and spare clothes from a charity.
Sylvain layers six garments on his upper body for insulation: a T-shirt, a sweater, a fleece, a vest and two jackets. "The trick is to leave air between the layers. If you're too tight, the insulation doesn't work very well," he explains.
"If you stop, you let the cold seep into your bones. As long as we’re walking, we’re generating our own warmth," 50-year-old Danish, originally from Pakistan, adds.
According to Météo-France, the cold weather will persist in the coming days in the Paris region, with temperatures below freezing at night and not exceeding 4C during the day.
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The regional prefecture said that as well as increasing outreach patrols and extending opening hours of day centres, it would make hotel rooms available for families.
"Some day centres will also open as overnight shelters," the statement said, adding that 60 single women will be accommodated from Monday "in the regional prefecture building" located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
Several departments in the greater Paris area have already activated this plan and others are expected to follow, with some 30 departments across France having already activated their emergency cold weather procedures.
