Par Ludivine Corporal
Published on
“If tomorrow I want to leave, I leave. I have no ties, nothing”. It is with this sentence that Alexandre, a 38-year-old homeless man in Lyon (Rhône), sums up his definition of freedom, which is particularly dear to him.
Since May 2022, he has been setting up almost every day on the footbridge of the courthouse, between Old Lyon and the Presqu’Île, to beg. In front of him, a sign with the writing “too ugly for prostitution” makes passers-by smile.
The disease of the “fidget”
With only a large backpack as his only luggage, the thirty-year-old criss-crosses the cities of France after having lived six years in Italy, there also in the street. A way of life that he did not undergo but chose, as surprising as that may seem.
“I have the disease of itchy feet,” he blurts out in a burst of laughter. “Before, I was a fairground. I really liked this job because I traveled a lot. Then I met a girl and I settled down. But that was a mistake, it really wasn’t for me. »
In 2013, he drops everything to go to Italy. He only has 300 euros and a tent. There he learns to make soap bubbles and puts on a street show, then begins to make small sculptures with cans, which he sells. Which allows him to eat.
“I couldn’t be in an apartment”
Despite the difficult conditions and the extreme temperatures that he can sometimes experience, Alexandre it is never regret the decision that he took ten years ago now. Because he wouldn’t see himself living any other way. Because he learned to organize himself in this way and he always had the impression of gaining from it.
I couldn’t be in an apartment. Someone who earns a minimum wage, once he has paid his water and electricity bills, his rent, his health insurance, his car, his gas, what does he have left? Nothing ? Even if on my side it’s a bit of a stock market and there are days with and days without, I’m free from all that. In my family, they take me for a crackpot, but I assume.
For his electricity, Alexandre bought a small kit of solar panels that allows him to charge his phone. At the moment, he is sleeping on the ground in a small room cut off from the wind, lent by residents. For the showers, he also manages with acquaintances.
Solidarity of Lyonnais
The 30-year-old can count on the solidarity of the people of Lyon, in particular the merchants of Old Lyon who sometimes bring him food. “The neighborhood is super nice, I’m lucky. Every day I meet different people. That’s what I like too. »
However, Alexandre lives and moves alone. But it is none the more unfortunate. “In the street, generally, people shoot each other or smoke crack. Me, it does not interest me, ”he says. Having many of his friends in Italy, he would like to return to his adopted country one day. “I’m going to stay a little longer in Lyon, but I know that my wanderlust will soon be back on the road! »
Will he go to live in Toulouse, Lille or Marseille? Even he doesn’t know it yet. And that is precisely what drives this great nomad: the adventure…
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