ABSTRACT
After reviewing the French definitions of homelessness, the chapter describes the context of the housing crisis in France, showing that population categories previously protected from homelessness, notably people with jobs, are now beset by difficulties, while new representations of rooflessness are emerging in the media. However, public policies are struggling to find solutions to the problems, and the hierarchical, segmented, and competitive system has the effect of sorting people out, encouraging their recurrent displacement and non-take-up. The chapter offers two examples to illustrate this hard-to-change system: overnight shelters for women and the ‘Housing First’ policy.
