UNICEF Reports Record Number of Homeless Children Ahead of School Year in France

According to a report published on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, by Unicef and the Fédération des acteurs de la solidarité, at least 2,355 children in France remained without emergency shelter after calling the 115 emergency hotline ahead of the school year. The figure represents a 9 percent increase compared to the previous school year and a 42 percent surge from 2022, underscoring what humanitarian groups term the persistent failure of successive governments to fulfill the pledge of eliminating street homelessness for minors.

The findings stem from the eighth edition of the joint “Enfants à la rue” barometer, which relies on a national headcount conducted at the start of the week. Among the 2,355 children left without lodging, 514 are under the age of three.

Organizations emphasize that the official figures severely understate the true scale of the crisis. Many families fail to connect with the 115 hotline or abandon attempts to call altogether due to chronic saturation. Furthermore, unaccompanied homeless minors and families residing in informal settlements, squats, or shantytowns are excluded from the count.

Deadly Toll and Systemic Saturation

The crisis impacts every region across France, generating severe consequences for vulnerable youth. Data compiled by the collective Les Morts de la rue indicates that 14 children under the age of four and 12 adolescents between 15 and 18 died while living on the streets in 2025.

Unicef and the Fédération des acteurs de la solidarité attribute the worsening numbers to a chronic saturation of existing accommodation frameworks. The organizations are urging an immediate expansion in shelter capacity alongside a multi-year transition policy moving people from the streets into stable housing.

Nos organisations réclament ainsi l’augmentation sans délai du nombre de places d’hébergement et la mise en œuvre d’une politique pluriannuelle “de la rue au logement”, assortie de moyens suffisants pour garantir des conditions de vie dignes à tous les enfants et à leurs parents.

Adeline Hazan and Pascal Brice

Political Stakes Ahead of Elections

With a presidential election on the horizon, Adeline Hazan, president of Unicef France, and Pascal Brice, head of the Fédération des acteurs de la solidarité, are challenging political contenders to confront the emergency directly.

“Aucun projet pour la France ne peut ignorer la réalité des enfants qui vivent dans la rue,” the leaders stated in the barometer report, adding that resolving the issue remains a matter of political will.