Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin asked the prefects for “systematic firmness” to evict “offenders who are perpetrators of urban violence” from social housing, in a note consulted on Thursday, confirming information from TF1. “We ask you to mobilize all the tools provided by law to evict offenders from the social housing they occupy”, write the Minister of the Interior and the Secretary of State in charge of the City, Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, in this note dated Wednesday.
“You will use the different tools at your disposal, depending on the particular situations you may experience, in conjunction with donors, local communities and the judicial authority,” they add. This note comes after the controversy sparked by the expulsion last week by the prefect of Val-d’Oise of a convicted rioter and his relatives from a social housing they occupied.
The prefect of Val-d’Oise explained to Agence France-Presse that the expulsion was linked “to the fact that this person looted a store”, but “that there was already another reason for expulsion” . “To save time, we executed a pre-existing eviction judgment,” he said, explaining that the pre-existing lease termination decision was made for unpaid rent.
In law, it is not the prefect who orders an eviction, but a court decision, generally after a long procedure. It can only be motivated by non-compliance with the lease, such as unpaid rent, disturbance of enjoyment or acts of delinquency by tenants (wild mechanics, sale of narcotics, noise).
The ministers cite articles 1728 of the Civil Code and 7 of law 89-462 of July 6, 1989, and argue that the commission of “an act of serious crime near one’s place of residence” constitutes “an attack peaceful use of his dwelling”.
“On this basis, a lessor can seize the civil judge so that the latter pronounces the termination of the lease of the dwelling and the eviction of any occupant to restore the tranquility of the place”, they detail. Sabrina Agresti-Roubache and Gérald Darmanin asked the prefects to ensure that landlords and mayors are “aware of these provisions and to facilitate their use”.
