We can host displaced Ukrainians at our French home, what do we do?

Reader question: We have space available in our home in France to host refugees fleeing Ukraine. How can we open our home to them?

Several Connexion readers have written in to ask if there is a way that they can host Ukrainians fleeing the country due to the war, and how to do this.

There are different ways you can go about this.

The French government has set up an information page where people can find information on how to support Ukraine. This page includes a link to the the association Cohabitations solidaires, which has a process for hosting refugees. You simply need to fill out an online form, which you can do here.

You can also go through réfugiés.info, which provides information in English, French and several other languages on how you can host refugees. See the website here.

You can also get in touch with the charity association Aide Médicale Caritative France-Ukraine via this dedicated email address: hebergement@ukr.fr.

The Brittany-based association Utopia 56, set up to help migrants, is also involved in supporting Ukrainian people. You can see its website here.

Otherwise, many cities and towns around France are organising this type of offering individually, for example Lille, which announced 250 places, or Toulouse. Find a link here to the form to host a displaced person in Toulouse.

You can find all the contact details of your local mairie through this online search function. Equally, simply search the name of your town / city into google followed by the word ‘mairie’.

The international organisation Techfugees, which helps displaced people using technoligical solutions, also has a French chapter. You can find out more about the organisation here (information in English).

If you cannot host someone but still want to help, read our article about it here: How can I support Ukraine with donations or aid in France?

Up to a million people flee Ukraine

The UNs high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, said on March 2 that more than one million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24.

The vast majority have entered neighbouring countries such as Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on March 3 that 800 Ukrainians have arrived in France after fleeing the country.

Some of them are transiting to Spain or England, he said.

He said that France would play a part in hosting those displaced by the war.

“There is not a big Ukrainian community in France,” he said.

"17,000 Ukrainians have a residence permit for example, and there are large communities elsewhere in Europe.”

Elsewhere, Airbnb co-founder and president Brian Chesky announced that the accommodation platform was preparing with its hosts to house 100,000 Ukrainians displaced by the conflict.

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