735 homeless people will die in 2023, according to the Collectif Les Morts de la Rue

This collective, which has been conducting this census since 2012, points to an "unprecedented number" of deaths, up compared to 2022, when 624 people died in the street. Even if, it notes, these figures should be interpreted "with caution", "a significant proportion of deaths" escaping this study.

It is difficult to know precisely the number of homeless people in France: there are around 330.000 according to the Abbé Pierre Foundation, while the last official assessment by INSEE, in 2012, estimated their number at 143.000.

For 2023, the collective counted 735 deceased homeless people, a total that rises to 826 if we include people who were no longer in this situation but were in their life.

The group warns of the years of life lost due to homelessness: the average age of death of those surveyed is around 49 years, almost 30 years younger than the general population.

The focus is on older people, particularly those aged between 46 and 65, who will account for 46% of deaths in 2023, as well as those over 65, who will account for 14% of deaths.

"We had the case of a 90-year-old lady who was evicted from a home and who died within the month that followed, very quickly, since she had never been in a situation on the streets," Adèle Lenormand, coordinator of the collective, told the press.

The majority of deaths concern men (86%), but the proportion of women has increased compared to previous years.

Nearly a third of deaths occur in public spaces (32%), followed by places of care (30%), an increase compared to previous years, indicating "a difficulty" in accessing "care or being taken care of at the end of life".

Some 22% of deaths are due to external causes, such as transport accidents (5%) or assaults (5%), while less than 1% of deaths are linked to the consumption of alcohol or drugs.

The president of the collective Bérangère Grisoni denounced the "indifference" suffered by homeless people.

In particular, she criticised several public measures "going against the fundamental rights" of this public, such as the law against the illegal occupation of housing or even prefectural decrees prohibiting food distributions in certain districts of Paris or Calais.