A local monitoring committee for the Don Quichotte social movement has recently been established. It includes a representative from the F.N.A.R.S. (National Federation of Associations for Social Reintegration), the C.C.A.S. (Communal Center for Social Action), and the Inter-Secours coordination of Nice, as well as local spokespeople for the Don Quichotte. The proposal for the official establishment of a monitoring committee for the movement was officially accepted by the Deputy Prefect. This is, in fact, the only point of agreement between the two parties.
The Deputy Prefect reiterated the proposal to relocate the camp to the Var plain, initially initiated by the City of Nice, which once again was refused. Moreover, for the past few days, water has not been running in the shower near the campsite. Additionally, the request to open the beach’s restrooms has still not reached a positive outcome. Nevertheless, the camp members are trying to maintain maximum security and hygiene as much as possible.
Yesterday, thirty-eight tents were still pitched on the pebbles of Centenaire beach. According to a census conducted by the spokespeople, fifty-six people were living in the camp. On the other hand, the Children of Don Quichotte estimate that “1,500 social housing units are vacant in Nice,” which among other reasons, motivates them to continue the fight “as long as a viable, decent, and permanent rehousing solution is not proposed for each person present in the camp,” assured Michel, one of the spokespeople, during yesterday’s General Assembly.
Beyond this imperative, Gérard adds that “it is the case of all homeless people in Nice that should be addressed by social services and institutions. There is no social policy without a social movement that imposes it. We should not stop the movement under the pretext that some hotel room proposals were made for a few. A suitable solution must be demanded for everyone: family pension, C.H.R.S., social housing, furnished room, everyone has their own issues.”
Michel adds that “a small half of the people present in the camp are perfectly able to occupy a social housing unit today and need no follow-up. For others, it is more difficult.”
The Don Quichotte of Nice seemed therefore determined to sustain the movement, following the example of Jean-Baptiste Legrand, one of the Parisian founders. Other members of the monitoring committee, although agreeing with the Don Quichotte on the claims to be made and the position to be adopted, appeared slightly more cautious and inclined towards compromise.
Although a more significant national coordination of the camps, especially those in Paris, Lille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and elsewhere, seems necessary, it seems that the social movement crystallizes, in terms of claims, at the local level, putting aside ministerial promises from above, certainly too vague and not concrete enough.
