As you may have noticed, the cold has settled in our region for the long term. The winter sports resorts have opened their slopes to the luckiest among us, stores are bustling with people eager to fill their baskets for the holidays, and children are being very well-behaved so as not to scare away Santa Claus. However, a part of the population is not so fortunate. The homeless find themselves helpless and unarmed to fight against their struggles. Cold, exclusion, and hunger are their main adversaries. Many solidarity associations lend their support to these needy individuals: the Red Cross, the Restos du Cœur, the Secours Populaire, and, for the past three weeks, the association Soulidarietà.
Every Wednesday evening since the beginning of December, in front of the Lympia church on the port, about ten activists from this association, which aligns closely with the nationalist group Identitarian Block, distribute soup to the homeless. This act of solidarity attracts media attention and divides opinions because the soup contains pork, thereby automatically excluding those who do not eat it, namely the Muslim or Jewish homeless, as specific preparation is required for meat consumption.
The Law for Them
Many people have risen up against this act trying to ban the action. But as Dr. Noël Ayrault, the deputy mayor of Nice in charge of health and humanitarian action, says, the city is powerless: “They have discriminatory and provocative behaviors but we wait for an infraction to occur”. The same message comes from the prefecture, which says it can do nothing: “No law prohibits distributing food aid to those in need. We are aware that the soup excludes unfortunate people because of their religion. But as long as there is no obligation for the homeless to take it nor any disturbance to the public order, we cannot intervene,” states the prefect’s office.
So, it appears that public authorities are powerless against this action.
From the side of the Nice association, Dominique Lescure, its president, indicated a desire to move away from this controversy. Reached by phone, he declared: “This soup is intended only to help those in need. We refuse no one and on the contrary, we want to help all those who need it.”
“All we ask for is something to eat!”
And this is what the primary stakeholders, the homeless, perceive most: their benefit. As George, 53, who has been living on the streets for 13 years, says: “What matters to me is being able to find a hot meal. I don’t care what’s in it, as long as it feeds and warms me.”
Similarly, Hakan, a 44-year-old Turk living on the streets in France for 8 years said, “It’s true that this discrimination is not good but we have other associations that help us and have been for a long time. I want to warmly thank them because I don’t know how I would survive without them.”
So, is it an intentional act of discrimination or simply a desire to bring a bit of comfort to people who really need it? Probably a bit of both… But in these difficult times when everything escalates and takes on unreasonable proportions, can we afford to completely reject this initiative? Even if it is condemnable because it is discriminatory, it at least has the merit of existing. It allows people without resources to find a bit of comfort and, above all, a hot soup to help them through the harsh winter months. At a time when the majority of the population does not feel concerned by this problem of exclusion and prefers to worry about the success of their New Year’s Eve celebrations, the Nice group SOULIDARIETÀ lends their help to the most destitute and beyond everything, that is what should be remembered. And isn’t that the most important?
