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LISA MULLINS: The housing crisis in the United States has focused on home foreclosure. In France, particularly in the big cities in France, the story is about eviction of renters. The World's Gerry Hadden reports that's because of a ban on evictions over the wintertime that has now ended.

GERRY HADDEN: The ban is meant to save poor people from freezing to death during the coldest months of the year. But activist Christophe Robert says being homeless in cities like Paris is brutal no matter what the season. “We know very well what happens,” he says, “when a family here gets evicted. All their furniture gets placed on the street, along with their mattress, and they're just left to fend for themselves.” Last year, France saw about 10, 000 evictions – and this year, as more people lose their jobs and fail to pay rent, the number will likely increase. When the annual evictions ban expired recently, activists like Robert staged a protest in Paris demanding more housing for the newly homeless. The activists piled up hundreds of mattresses in a prominent square. The mattress mountain attracted a lot of media attention. Ornella Desoliers let French Television into her two-room apartment where she and her husband Abdel Chelli live. They're both out of work and have been served an eviction notice. “This is just not possible,” she says. “I have no family in France, nor does my husband. I don't know what to do.” Her husband, Abdel, says he simply isn't venturing outside so the landlord can't change the locks. “If we do get evicted, he says, we'll get on the subway and look for someplace to pitch a tent.” Such media coverage and the grim economic forecast have prompted a response from the government – in the form of a pledge. France's Housing Minister, Christine Boutin, says that “from now on, nobody in France will be evicted from their home before alternative housing arrangements can be made.” Boutin's plan makes funds available to housing associations to relocate evictees. But, she acknowledges, keeping a roof over everyone's head will be hard – especially in big cities like Paris. Housing activist Didier Cusserne calls it impossible. He says there just aren't enough low cost apartments out there. He says, “France's housing associations are calling for a moratorium, a pause, on all evictions until the government actually provides those homes.” That demand appears as unlikely to be met as the government's pledge to house all the evicted. One hope: that rental prices drop given the crisis, offering some relief to renters. For The World, I'm Gerry Hadden, Paris.

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