Number Of Homeless Children In France Rises 9% In One Year

At least 514 out of 2,355 homeless children are under 3 years old.

On Wednesday, the Federation of Actors of Solidarity (FAS) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a statement reporting that the number of children sleeping on the streets in France has increased 9% over the past year and 42% since 2022.

Currently, 514 out of 2,355 homeless children are under 3 years old. These figures, however, do not include all cases, as some people are left out of the records of the 115 phone service for people without shelter.

The UNICEF-FAS statement highlighted that the consequences of having nowhere to stay “are dramatic” because of the resulting deterioration of physical and mental health, exposure to violence and difficulties attending school.

In the most extreme cases, some homeless children pay for their exposure to violence “even with their lives,” the humanitarian organizations said, noting that 14 children under 4 years old and 12 adolescents between 15 and 18 years old died in France in 2025.

2000 enfants à la rue en France.

C’est la journée des enfants en situation de rue.

Inès, 7 ans.
Naël, 10 ans.
Amir, 13 ans.

Dans la 6e puissance mondiale :

« _ Madame pour cette nuit, désolé, pas de solution pour vous.
_ Pas pour moi, pour mes enfants. Ils ont école.
_ … » pic.twitter.com/J1htOAIHh4

— Pierre Joigneaux (@pierr_joigneaux) April 12, 2025

The text reads, “There are 2,000 homeless children in France. Today is International Street Children’s Day. Ines, 7 yo. Nael, 10 yo. Amir, 13 yo. In the world’s sixth largest economy: ‘Ma’am, for tonight, I’m sorry, there’s no solution for you. Not for me, not for my children. They have school’.”

“Behind this figure, the consequence of a collective failure, are children whose daily lives are marked by insecurity and instability. Children deprived of their rights and whose future is being mortgaged,” said Adeline Hazan, president of UNICEF France.

Hazan called for urgent action by public officials and said that “political action is vital for these children. If ensuring a roof for every child is not our priority, what is?”

UNICEF and FAS recalled that, in his first New Year’s Eve message from the Elysee Palace on Dec. 31, 2017, President Emmanuel Macron had expressed his intention to “offer a roof to everyone who is deprived” of one. Even in 2022, his government reiterated its commitment to “zero children on the street.”

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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