French MPs 'sleep rough' to highlight homelessness

In a protest against homelessness, fifty members of the French parliament spent a 'freezing' night on the streets, with the country's homeless population.

This move was taken also to draw attention to the social issue exacerbated by a cold snap in France.

The French lawmakers spent the night on the streets of the French capital of Paris on Wednesday as air temperature was expected to fall to as low as minus 2 degrees Celsius, reported the Sputnik.

The initiative was launched by the deputy mayor of the Etampes Commune, Mama Sy, who called on elected officials to "sleep rough," and comprehend the seriousness of the problem by standing in solidarity with the city's homeless population in winter temperatures.

"We can no longer allow people to live and sleep out on the street. We want it to end. To do that, we demand the requisition of empty buildings. This is not about one or another official's mistake - we all failed and we must end this inhumane situation together," Sy told Le Parisien daily, as per the report.

The deputy mayor pointed to the 6,000 homeless, people who had been granted temporary housing across France over the past weeks, and called on the government to proceed with the plan until a permanent solution was found.

On that note, at least 3,000 people are sleeping rough on the streets of Paris, according to data from the city's first ever homelessness census.

Last September, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that "no man must remain on the streets or in the woods before the end of the year," however, the goal has yet to materialise.