Merry Christmas from France: Anti-homeless Cages put up around park benches to stop people sleeping on them
Metal fencing erected around seating in the French city of Angouleme to stop rough sleepers using them prompted a backlash on social media.
Christmas spirit must have been in short supply when the decision was taken to put cages up to stop homeless people being able to use benches in a French city.
And the bizarre decision to put metal fencing around the seating in the Angouleme district on Christmas Eve has left people angered and confused.
The cages mean that not only can rough sleepers not use them - but no one else can either.
Scores of people took to social media to call for the fencing in the Champ de Mars square to be torn down.
Xavier Bonnefont, the city’s right wing mayor, initially defended the initiative, and his deputy Joel Guitton claimed the benches were used ‘almost exclusively by people who consume alcohol on a regular basis’.
But Angouleme's council appears to have temporarily backtracked on the decision following the outcry.
The cages have been removed, but the mayor of the council, Xavier Bonnefont, told Euro News that no final decision had yet been made.
He told the news website: "We will continue to reflect on this in January with the shopkeepers and the residents of Champs de Mars square, in order to find a satisfactory solution."
Christmas spirit must have been in short supply when the decision was taken to put cages up to stop homeless people being able to use benches in a French city.
And the bizarre decision to put metal fencing around the seating in the Angouleme district on Christmas Eve has left people angered and confused.
The cages mean that not only can rough sleepers not use them - but no one else can either.
Scores of people took to social media to call for the fencing in the Champ de Mars square to be torn down.
Xavier Bonnefont, the city’s right wing mayor, initially defended the initiative, and his deputy Joel Guitton claimed the benches were used ‘almost exclusively by people who consume alcohol on a regular basis’.
But Angouleme's council appears to have temporarily backtracked on the decision following the outcry.
The cages have been removed, but the mayor of the council, Xavier Bonnefont, told Euro News that no final decision had yet been made.
He told the news website: "We will continue to reflect on this in January with the shopkeepers and the residents of Champs de Mars square, in order to find a satisfactory solution."
Source: Mirror , EuroNews, RT
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