Each corner of the city has their local "clochards": the drunk ones that lie over the metro air vents on the pavements in search of some heat, the clean-cut man wearing a hat politely asking for a coin every morning at the bus station, the immigrant woman cradling her kid in front of the bakery, the rugged looking man parked in a wheelchair at the supermarket who stands up when he thinks nobody is looking.
They are all part of the city's social fabric. You notice when one disappears and hope it is because he or she has found a better solution. Sometimes, however, they don't make it through the winter, and flowers are placed in their spot for a few weeks in remembrance of the clochard who called it his home.
One of the aims of "Nuit de la Solidarité" is enabling citizens to become aware of the reality of life on the streets. It is unbearable that this city has so many people sleeping in the cold at a stone's throw from glorious sites such as the sparkling Eiffel Tower.
Back in summer 2017 the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, promised that no-one would be sleeping in the Paris streets "by the end of the year," something that - he has confessed - he was sadly unable to fulfil. There is an estimate from last year's Solidarity Night census that Paris' homeless population currently stands at around 3,000 people. Not all are old men, alone, walking around with a lot of bags and each homeless has his/her story.
This year's rally is being organised by a collective of French voluntary organisations, calling for an end to poverty and exclusion. Several associative structures are opening their doors offering to share a moment of conviviality. As Abbé Pierre said: "You don't need to be perfect before you can start doing something good."
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