A new report in France has shone a light on how the country’s hugely costly HLM (low-income housing) model is disproportionatley benefiting migrant families who often never leave and carve out isolated communities.
Exclusive data from a joint study into those occupying social housing in France has revealed that sub-Saharan African migrants are benefiting from taxpayer-subsidized living more than any other migrant background or French national to a hugely disproportionate degree.
The report conducted by the Immigration and Demography Observatory in collaboration with the Foundation for Political Innovation (Fondapol) think tank found that 57 percent of those originating from the African region are living in social housing across France.
Even more concerning is the fact that 63 percent of descendants of these immigrants also occupy social housing, suggesting a generational trend of sub-Saharan migrant communities continuing to live off the state.
The study contrasts this figure with other migration backgrounds including those from China, of whom just 8 percent enjoy subsidized living arrangements. Similarly, just 14 percent of Southeast Asian migrants and 14 percent of those arriving from other EU countries live in social housing.
The percentage of French citizens living in social housing is 11 percent, the report adds.