The Housing Crisis for Civil Servants in Paris

Is it still possible to find decent accommodation in Paris on a civil servant salary? Tired of looking for solutions, Bérénice (the first name has been changed), a plastic arts teacher in the capital’s schools, ended up moving in September with her son to a 52 square meter apartment in Yvelines, an hour from her home. work. Five years ago, when her relationship fell apart, she understood that becoming independent was not easy. His salary, compared to Parisian rents, will at best only allow him to access a 25 square meter apartment, with a single bedroom, for his son. “At 55, after a life in education and social work, sleeping on the living room sofa and not having a penny left at the end of the month, that was the horizon”she is indignant.

However, she took steps to obtain social housing. “As not all the lights are red, you have no chance”a social worker says to her one day, who details: she does not have a large family, she does not live in a hotel or with a third party, she is not a victim of violence. “I’m not going to make people believe that I’m beaten! »retorts Bérénice. “ “Well yes!”, the lady replied seriously, a handrail would help the file move forward.”, she says, still stunned. She won’t do anything about it. Today, in the small living room of her new apartment, she asks herself: “I love my job, but is it worth it? Perhaps it would be better to go to the provinces? We would have a less strangled life…”

This question arises for many middle-class households who work in Paris. The capital has also experienced a slight but continuous erosion of its population in recent years. In all metropolises and attractive areas, administrations and businesses are experiencing the same fate. “Very often jobs that are not filled are due to a housing problem”alerted this summer Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, still president of Medef. “It’s a huge problem. For entrepreneurs who cannot find hires, and for our employees who have to live a two-hour commute from their work”, adds Bernard Cohen-Hadad, president of CPME Ile-de-France.

It’s not new. From the beginning of the 1950s, faced with the shortage, the State and social partners created 1% housing. The organization, renamed Action Logement, continues to finance housing for employees with modest incomes, through the collection of a contribution, the participation of employers in the construction effort (PEEC), set at 0.45% of the company payroll.

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