Many people resort to squatting at some time or another: the homeless or the poorly housed, travelers, activists challenging the principle of private property, precarious people in need of collective space…
Warning: under French law, “entering and remaining in a dwelling, commercial, agricultural or professional premises”, “degradation” and “home invasion” are offenses punishable by arrest, fine or even imprisonment. Inciting or facilitating squatting is also a crime, which is why this text is for information purposes only.
Spotting
In general, the longer a building has been out of use, the less likely it is that squatters will get into trouble by occupying it. So they look for houses, buildings, apartments or other premises that look as if they’ve been abandoned for a while: dust on the windows, overgrown vegetation, doors and windows sealed with wooden or metal plates, mailboxes overflowing with mail… Some people put pieces of paper in the doorways of different buildings to make sure that no one enters, then look later to see if the pieces of paper have fallen out. [Read More]
