Exclusive data from a joint study into those occupying social housing
in France has revealed that sub-Saharan African migrants are benefiting
from taxpayer-subsidized living more than any other migrant background
or French national to a hugely disproportionate degree.
The report conducted by the Immigration and Demography Observatory in
collaboration with the Foundation for Political Innovation (Fondapol)
think tank found that 57 percent of those originating from the African
region are living in social housing across France.
Even more concerning is the fact that 63 percent of descendants of
these immigrants also occupy social housing, suggesting a generational
trend of sub-Saharan migrant communities continuing to live off the
state.
The study contrasts this figure with other migration backgrounds
including those from China, of whom just 8 percent enjoy subsidized
living arrangements. Similarly, just 14 percent of Southeast Asian
migrants and 14 percent of those arriving from other EU countries live
in social housing.
The percentage of French citizens living in social housing is 11 percent, the report adds.
A high degree of African migrants in general benefit from HLM
(low-income housing) across France, with those arriving from the Maghreb
region also disproportionately represented in the statistics. A total
of 49 percent of Algerians and 44 percent of Moroccans and Tunisians
also enjoy lower costs of living, courtesy of the state.
The large concentration of migrant populations in social housing
neighborhoods “has generated recurring difficulties which result in
particular in phenomena of great violence and the establishment of the
criminal economy,” noted Michel Aubouin of Fondapol.
He added that those living in social housing form their own communities that are “isolated from the rest of the urban fabric.”
The report notes that 35 percent of all immigrants living in France
benefit from HLM, adding that “this over-representation of immigrant
families reinforces the idea that the French have a habitat intended
primarily for foreigners.”
The HLM scheme is widespread across France after being set up in the
1950s to help low-income families and was designed to be a temporary
measure to help them get back on their feet.
A quarter of the 21 million social housing units across the European
Union are located in France, with French taxpayers paying €34 billion
every year for HLM. However, Aubouin believes the model has proven to be
profoundly ineffective “in that the most modest do not have access to
it,” unless, it would seem, they are not born in France.
The report notes that turnover rates in social housing units are now
“very low,” and it is common for generations of immigrants to remain in
residences in the long term, effectively making them the “quasi-owners”
of the properties and instilling a welfare culture while creating
parallel communities.
The report makes several recommendations designed to refocus social
housing efforts in France on “welcoming precarious families” while also
facilitating “better integration of non-Europeans.”
One suggestion is a moratorium on new social housing initiatives
while a full review is conducted by government agencies in order to
“allow in-depth reflection without waiting for the financial situation
to require it.”
It also calls for a social housing applicant’s duration within France
to be added as a factor for prioritizing those granted social housing
so that “families of French origin are no longer discriminated against,”
as well as introducing a “limited-term lease” to reaffirm the temporary
nature of social housing and redefine it as a step towards accession to
property.
Source: Remix News
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Planet Today
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.planet-today.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.