Contradictory Narratives on French Social Housing: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Abstract

Social housing in France now occupies a central position in political discourse and in public opinion. Accommodating some 17% of households and being an economic driver, its political weight is understandable. But the frailty of the current consensus, based on new production as a solution for solving the “housing crisis,” can be approached by analyzing the ruptures which have occurred since the “glorious times”—in terms of both narratives and actions. Using the image of a “new deal” between markets, state, and society and the concept of “general interest” as a framework, the paper first discusses the way the post-liberal shift impacts and challenges housing policies and the place of social housing. The historically constructed narrative of the sector is then presented from its origins up to the shift of the 1970s. Finally, it is argued that the turmoil of the last four decades indicates a shift toward a new repartition between the main stakeholders and a different role for the State—that leaves unsolved not only the housing question, but also the social one.

Keywords::

• social housing
• general interest
• narratives
• State
• market
• society

Notes

¹ SOFFRES-USH Survey, “Baromètre d'image du Logement Social,” 28 April 2011, http://www.tns-sofres.com/points-de-vue/23216F2F556A49E483D96B9CA9B0A66F.aspx (accessed 9 August 2011). The USH is the umbrella federation of the 761 social housing bodies that make up the sector.

² Source: Comptes du Logement (2012).

³ See http://www.europolitics.info/institutions/court-to-rule-on-definition-of-social-housing-art321395-3.html

⁴ “Le logement dans l'Union européenne: la propriété prend le pas sur la location,” Économie et Statistiques, no. 343, 2001–2003.

⁵ See, for instance, Offe (2000). Lots of useful analyses refer to national contexts, such as Matznetter (2002).

⁶ All preferential loans are defined by the target population's income. They are more or less “social”: the more social is the PLA (for Prêt locatif Aidé), the less is the PLS (for Prêt Locatif Social) that in reality targets middle classes. In the in-between, the PLUS (for Prêt locatif à usage social) is the common social housing loan. PLI (for prêt locatif intermédiaire) is producing housing units whose rent is not far from the market. See Rapport sur le financement du logement social, Inspection générale des finances no. 2001-M-013-02 et Conseil général des Ponts et Chaussées no. 2001 0067 01, Mars 2002, p. 9.

⁷ See, for instance, CAE's last report by Alain Trannoy and Etienne Wasner, http://www.cae.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Document_de_travail_logement.pdf

⁸ See, for instance, Catherine Rollot, “Les sans-abris, une honte nationale sans fin” [“The homeless, a never-ending national shame”], Le Monde, 11 August 2011. The term “shame” referring to homelessness and unhealthy housing has itself a long history in France.

⁹ See USH-SOFRES Survey (note 1).

¹⁰ See http://www.ville.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/rapport_onzus_2011.pdf, pp. 141–165.

¹¹ Estimation of homeless persons generally admitted around 300 000 if taking into account those living partially in temporary accommodation.

¹² Christophe Robert, FAP representative, l'Express, 1 February 2010, http://lexpansion.lexpress.fr/economie/la-politique-du-logement-social-en-accusation_226022.html, Consulté le 7 Août 2011 (free translation).

¹³ Claire Lévy-Vroelant, “Construire plus pour loger moins? Le logement entre consensus et paradoxes,” Le Monde, 1 March 2012. http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2012/03/01/construire-plus-pour-loger-moins-le-logement-entre-consensus-et-paradoxes_1649885_3232.html

¹⁴ The Opposable right to Housing Act (5 March 2007) mentions even a greater number (591 000) as a condition to implement the law.

¹⁵ VINCI is the well-known constructor active in different markets (mainly transports and construction) and more recently on what we can call the “social housing market.” http://www.institut-entreprise.fr/fileadmin/Docs_PDF/travaux_reflexions/LLG07Financement/VINCI2presentation.pdf (accessed 3 August 2011).