A report by Action Against Hunger (AAH) has revealed that 53 percent of unaccompanied minors under 17 in Paris are suffering from “severe hunger.” The majority of these adolescents are from Guinea and Ivory Coast.
In a study conducted this winter with around 100 foreign minors aged 15 and 16, AAH found that they do not have enough to eat. Helene Quéau, head of AAH’s France mission, expressed outrage, stating, “This is intolerable for France, which is not living up to its obligations in terms of fighting hunger.”
These adolescents, unrecognized as minors by the state, are excluded from child welfare services. They have filed legal appeals for recognition of their juvenile status and are awaiting decisions from children’s judges, which can take months. In the meantime, they are left to fend for themselves on the streets.
According to the National Coordination of Young Migrants in Danger (CNJED), there are at least 3,477 isolated young foreigners currently in the process of having their minority recognized in France. More than a third of them are living on the streets without any housing solutions.
These minors are heavily dependent on food aid and often do not have food reserves. Many do not know where food aid is distributed, and even when they do, the distribution sites are often far from where they stay, limiting their ability to access food regularly. Some are too tired to move after nights spent being “chased by police” and prefer to limit themselves to the few meals available nearby. Others fear being stopped on public transport without a ticket.
More than half of the young people surveyed by AAH (53%) are in a situation of “severe hunger,” meaning they have not eaten for 24 hours and have gone to bed on an empty stomach. This is one of the highest levels recorded by AAH in France since 2019. Quéau noted that 53 percent is a level more commonly found in acute humanitarian crises in places like West Africa.
The study also found that 39 percent of the young people are in a situation of moderate hunger, while only 8 percent have little or no hunger. The research was conducted over four days in October and November 2023 at four sites in Paris.
The report highlighted the “saturation” of distribution sites, with the Porte de la Villette site in the 19th arrondissement being one of the busiest in France. The current organization of food distribution is not suitable for young people and exposes them to the risk of violence when mixed with very vulnerable adults.
Assessing the total number of unaccompanied minors in Paris is difficult as many fall off the radar of associations. These minors are frequently displaced and evicted by police, following a “zero fixation point” policy that dismantles any informal camps popping up across the city.