A/HRC/43/43/Add.2 their motor vehicles. To date, not all communities have established such sites. In the Greater Paris region, only 3,104 pitches of the 5,471 required have been created. Municipalities claim that they are constrained by financial difficulties and public resistance to the creation of caravan sites.61 The act, even when enforced, is problematic as it requires travellers to stay in the dedicated sites, thereby cementing spatial segregation and reducing the development of permanent housing. Owing to a lack of alternatives, these caravan sites become permanent solutions, although they were never intended for long-term stays. They are often located far from public services and educational institutions, near highways or industrial zones, and are poorly serviced, posing environmental or health risks.62 80. Most traveller communities are moving towards an increasingly sedentary life. However, even if they own or have access to land, they often face difficulties receiving water and electricity, particularly if the spot is located outside an official residential zone. Only a small number of municipalities have established so-called “family terrains” allowing for a mix of standard housing, structures and caravans. In addition, French law does not recognize caravans as housing, so residents are not entitled to the housing benefits and legal protection afforded to other households, such as a prohibition on cutting electricity and water supply during the winter period.63 81. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the culturally appropriate social housing initiatives developed by several municipalities in consultation with traveller communities and calls for their expansion, as only 514 such housing units were provided between 2005 and 2014. 64 V. Access to justice 82. The ability to claim the right to housing through an accessible mechanism is a core component of the right, as the Special Rapporteur detailed in her thematic report (A/HRC/40/61). 83. In France, the National Housing Information Agency maintains a network of offices in more than 1,000 locations throughout France where lawyers and civil society organizations provide legal advice, usually free of charge. It also maintains two hotlines, one for residents to submit complaints related to insalubrious housing and another to assist tenants and homeowners who fall into arrears with rent, mortgage or bill payments. 65 Residents falling below a certain income threshold are entitled to free legal aid. While the support available is commendable, linguistic and cultural barriers can prevent access to these legal support structures by migrants, Roma and persons living in homelessness. 84. In order to avoid flooding the judicial system, legal claims under the act establishing the enforceable right to housing are first assessed by mediation commissions, and there is a right of appeal before an administrative tribunal. The Council of State is the court of last instance for claims and has so far made over 140 decisions related to the interpretation of the act.66 85. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that some decisions of the administrative tribunals and the Council of State have limited the unconditional right to emergency accommodation and the right to housing. For example, living in homelessness is not always considered sufficient to be granted emergency accommodation, as courts have occasionally 61 62 63 64 65 66 Court of Audit, Rapport public annuel 2017, vol. 2, L’organisation, les missions, le suivi des recommandations (Paris, 2017), p. 211. Lise Foisneau, “Dedicated caravan sites for French gens du voyage: public health policy or construction of health and environmental inequalities?”, Health and Human Rights Journal, vol. 19, No. 2 (December 2017), pp. 89–98. See National Consultative Commission for Human Rights, “Avis sur le respect des droits des « gens du voyage » et des Roms migrants au regard des réponses récentes de la France aux instances internationales”, 22 March 2012; and Fédération Nationale des Associations Solidaires et d’Action avec les Tsiganes et les Gens de Voyage, Habitat permanent en résidence mobile (Paris, 2016). Court of Audit, Rapport public annuel 2017, vol. 2, p. 221. See also Fédération Nationale des Associations Solidaires et d’Action avec les Tsiganes et les Gens de Voyage, “Ancrages et besoins des habitants permanents de résidence mobile”, February 2017, p. 29. See www.anil.org. Available at http://droitaulogementopposable.org/. 15