Parvis de l’appel du 1er février 1954

The Parvis de l’appel du 1er février 1954 is marked by a wide, paved square that serves as a memorial to the freezing winter of nineteen fifty-four. During that brutal season, a Catholic priest named Abbé Pierre made an emergency radio appeal to the French public, demanding immediate help for the homeless dying in the streets. His words triggered a massive, spontaneous wave of solidarity across the country. This site keeps the memory of that night and the resulting housing laws alive.