"When I came home for the first time, I said to myself 'how did they do it?'", the young Angolan woman explained to AFP on Friday, "amused" by the former function of "her house".
Like 57 others - men, women, children of around ten different nationalities - the young mother joined the "Remorquage" project against homelessness, which was launched on Friday by Bruno Bernard, president of the Metropolis of Lyon
The project offers temporary accommodation on a site managed by the Salvation Army, near Bron airport, as well as support with getting a job.
Donated seven years ago by an entrepreneur from Nantes, 14 38-tonne refrigerated trailers, each measuring around ten metres in length and nearly three metres in width, line the 5,000 square metres of land made available by the state.
? Mais revenons à nos remorques.
— Bruno Bernard (@brunobernard_fr) June 7, 2024
Aux portes de Lyon, sur le site de l'@ArmeeduSalut à Bron, ce projet hors du commun voit le jour.
Ici, 14 remorques frigorifiques de poids lourd, autrefois destinées, ont été totalement réhabilitées pour ceux que la vie a malmenés. pic.twitter.com/lf2ynYf0Sq
Completely refurbished and connected to the city's water and electricity supply, they have become mobile homes on wheels, with a door and small windows. Around 30 square metres each, they can be occupied for a maximum of one year.
“There is everything you need to live normally: a kitchen, bedrooms, toilets, a bathroom,” said Laura NGracia Burnabe, who has lived there with her four young children for two months.
Thirty places are reserved on the site for single mothers with young children.
One of her neighbours, Michael Chaigneau, 43, who has "lived on the street" since his adolescence, thinks the old refrigerated trailer is "cool". He shares it with three others.
“What makes me feel good is sleeping in the warm,” said the 40-year-old, who has become a carpenter and is due to leave in August.
The project is supported and financed by the Metropolis of Lyon and the French state, as well as benefactors.
The city said that, since 2020, it has found homes for 3,000 people, including 600 on its ten so-called “hospitality sites”, which includes the “Remorquage” project.
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