TRUCE in France - just for winter...!
Well - it can all stop now - for a while!
It's not generally known, in particular - not known by the very people it is meant to help, and it is an "Official agreement" that is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year, which I think merits being talked about - at least as much as the "expulsions" are talked about, but it won't be - it's something "positive", and protestors' don't like them too much!
I'm talking about....... "La trêve d'hiver" - in France.
This. as I understand it, is applicable to all
After a few searches on the WWW, I have come to the result that France is the only country, world wide to have AND APPLY such an agreement. Other countries have "gentlemen's agreements"
This agreement has slowly spread to other vital areas of daily life in France.
Since the inaugeration of the Agreement, it has become more and more difficult for the utility companies
Of course, there are and always will be abuse of such an agreement. Tenants who use it to withhold payment before disappearing on the 1st of March
Wherever there is money in the game, there will be abuse - on both sides,
Nor is it a ground for owners,
Abuses, as commented will always happen, but at least NO ONE need have fear of reporting them - even in the coldest of Winters.
Yes - you will still see the "SDF" (French for "Sans Domicile Fixe" - English - "without fixed address") living in the streets, but that is normally because THEY have chosen to do so - even in Winter, but even for them you will see the "soup kitchens", the "warm blanket brigades" out to help them.
Even the local or National Police get involved nowadays - a lot of them don't like it, but they do it, because they've realised that the large Public wishes it to be so.
There is also a lot less paperwork to do than when they come across a corpse frozen to death.
This - unfortunately - still happens, but is relatively rare.
Is this at least one success story for "humanity"....?
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iwmpop(mrlemarquis) - Vauvert, France - Novembre 2010
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