Story By: Ernest Bio Bogore, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

The French government has announced plans to provide financial aid to homeless people of 6 GBP a day for them to buy necessities during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The ‘service voucher’ scheme for the homeless was announced by the Minister for Towns and Housing, Julien Denormandie.

According to local media, the French government will release 15 million EUR (13.3 million GBP) to provide daily financial aid of 7 EUR (6 GBP) per homeless person every day.

The scheme enables around 60,000 homeless people to buy necessities such as food and sanitary products

According to reports, this decision by the government is a response to calls for donations launched by the two NGOs Fondation Abbe-Pierre and Secours Catholique to help homeless people who no longer have access to food aid.

Local media said the distribution will be organised by charities in other areas where they have been forced to reduce their work due to the lockdown.

Julien Denormandie said: “The government is supporting the most vulnerable at this time, with a particular focus on homeless people. Since day one, our aim has been to shelter as many of them as possible.

“We managed to requisition and use 5,500 hotel rooms throughout France in the space of 10 days. Nearly 10,000 places are potentially available thanks to constructive talks with hotel owners, who I meet on a regular basis.

“We’re going to continue to ramp up.”

The minister went on to say: “This Monday, 164,000 people were able to benefit from accommodation thanks to the combined efforts of associations, local authorities and state services.”

According to the minister, the exact number of homeless people infected with COVID-19 is unknown, but it could be as high as 1,000.

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