In the city, the musical marauding of these young people warms up the nights of the homeless

“She told me to go whistle up there on the hill…” Accompanied by a trumpeter, two young girls and a homeless person, sitting in front of his tent on a metro air vent, sing Joe Dassin’s song in chorus. Improbable scene on this winter evening in the heart of Paris, in front of the square of the Saint-Jacques tower, a stone’s throw from the Place du Châtelet.

“Would you like to listen to some music and sing with us?” » Clotilde had barely spoken to Manuel, who “has not paid rent for six years”, than contact was established. “What music do you have? » replies the person concerned, born in Val-d’Oise fifty-two years ago. In a few seconds, the student finds the tube on her phone, connected to a small speaker. From the first notes, Manuel, can of beer in hand, begins to nod his head and hum.

Clotilde, 22, studies history at the Sorbonne, Ombeline, 20, is training in agro-management and Jean, 25, a railway engineer at RATP, is a trumpeter in his spare time.

All three participate two Tuesday evenings per month, with other comrades, in the music maraude created in 2019 by the Catholic association Y’a d’la joie. Sometimes, volunteers from Secours catholique accompany them to offer coffee or hot chocolate to the homeless people they meet.

“Bringing joy through singing to people in need” is the ambition of the 450 young musicians who hit the streets, wearing a yellow t-shirt emblazoned with the association’s logo adorned with a treble clef. They play the guitar, the violin, the trumpet, the harmonica… in a dozen cities in France, from Paris to Marseille, via Lyon or Nantes.

Break the loneliness

“It’s very enriching to sit with the homeless and share a moment in music with them. Especially since we are often the only ones who stop to talk to them,” confides Ombeline.

“Sometimes they introduce us to rap or songs from other countries,” continues Clotilde.

Jean, who previously participated in food distributions for people on the street, believes that “music lends itself better to exchange and sharing. On the trumpet, I don’t necessarily play the pieces that I know but those that people ask me. »

As a last song, Manuel asks for Julie Pietri’s hit Eve get up, before specifying: “Can you put it in techno mode, please? » That evening, during a few notes, everyone felt like they were on an equal footing.