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Let them eat Pret
On 1 February 1954 French cleric Abbé Pierre used Radio Luxembourg to issue a call to arms for French people to tackle the ‘horror’ of homelessness and rough sleeping.
On 1 February 1954 French cleric Abbé Pierre used Radio Luxembourg to issue a call to arms for French people to tackle the ‘horror’ of homelessness and rough sleeping. As a result, 500 million francs were donated to Abbé Pierre’s fledgling Emmaus homelessness charity in what became known as an ‘uprising of kindness’.
Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of Abbé Pierre’s broadcast and Emmaus UK is marking the occasion with a series of events across the country. This coincides with poverty and homelessness week, which we have been highlighting on our website all week.
London mayor Boris Johnson may like to reflect on this if he decides to pursue a plan to curb fast-food outlets such as Pret a Manger in distributing free, surplus food direct to homeless people at the end of each day.
No one wants to encourage rough sleeping, but, if surplus food is distributed through hostels, is it too much to hope for an uprising of kindness in London’s City Hall?
