Residents in Nantes Building Speak Out Over Hygiene and Safety
Listen to the story
Residents of an apartment building in Nantes, a city in western France, have spoken out about poor living conditions. They say the situation is serious.
One resident described the state of the building as a "disaster" in terms of hygiene and safety. This suggests the building has ongoing problems that have not been fixed.
The residents say they are not asking for much. They simply want the basic problems in their building to be solved.
At the same time, another housing issue is affecting the area around Nantes. Dozens of Roma families are preparing to spend the night outdoors, by the side of a road east of the city.
The Roma families do not currently have proper housing. As a result, they face the prospect of sleeping outside, exposed to the weather.
Both situations point to wider difficulties with housing and living conditions in the Nantes region. While the building residents are dealing with poor conditions inside their homes, the Roma families are dealing with a lack of housing altogether.
It is not yet clear how local authorities plan to respond to either situation. Both cases highlight ongoing concerns about housing standards and support for vulnerable communities in France.
Vocabulary5 words
- Nantes
- a city in western France
- hygiene
- the practice of keeping things clean and healthy
- disaster
- a very serious and bad situation
- Roma
- an ethnic group with their own culture, living in many countries
- residents
- people who live in a place
Quiz
Answer key
1. Poor hygiene and safety conditions 2. Spend the night by the side of a road 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Residents of an apartment building in Nantes have spoken out about poor living _____.
One resident described the state of the building as a "_____" in terms of hygiene and safety.
The residents say they are not asking for _____.
They simply want the basic problems in their building to be _____.
Dozens of Roma _____ are preparing to spend the night outdoors.
They will sleep by the side of a road east of the _____.
The Roma families do not currently have proper _____.
Both situations point to wider difficulties with housing in the Nantes _____.