The Interministerial delegation for housing and access to housing (Dihal) was created in 2010. It is responsible for piloting and implementing the national housing policy for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, with the ultimate goal of drastically reducing the number of homeless people in France.

In 2017, the French government launched a new public policy for which the Dihal is responsible and which aims to combat homelessness: the “Five-year Plan for Housing First”. In 2021, this policy was strengthened by creating the “public service from the street to housing”. This covers different objectives: increasing the housing stock, quickly directing and supporting homeless people towards housing, reducing rental evictions, getting territories involved and improving the governance of all stakeholders. The policy focuses on transforming the way homelessness is generally approached in France, from a system based on emergency solutions to the provision of housing and support according to a Housing First philosophy. This is done by working in close collaboration with actors throughout the territory, ranging from State services and local authorities to social landlords and associations. The policy is based in particular on 45 territories of accelerated implementation of Housing First. Housing First services are now spread across France with 235,000 people having received housing between 2018 and 2020, including more than 18,000 refugees in 2020 alone.