Les Enfants de Don Quichotte

There's been a lot of demonstrations recently by a group called Les Enfants de Don Quichotte, who have been in the news a lot recently. This is an activist group which is concerned with the plight of the homeless (of which Paris has many, not surprisingly), particularly in the winter time. They are perhaps most known for their recent plan consisting of distributing free tents to the Paris homeless (also called "SDF"s for reasons which are explained elsewhere in this French-themed blog) so that they at least have some shelter that they can call their own. In recent years, there has been a controversy regarding the formation of "tent cities" lining the banks of the Seine by the homeles--many feel that this constitutes an eyesore and should be forbidden. In contrast, Les Enfants de Don Quichotte every year have a night where its members sleep out in the street with the homeless in their tent encampments. Interesting stuff.

In related news, l'abbé Pierre died today at the age of 94. He was a famous French religious figure (maybe akin to Mother Theresa) who who known particularly for reaching out to the homeless.