Faced with the housing crisis and the resulting stagnation in the housing market, French employers are constrained in their recruitment efforts, and economic activity is consequently affected. We are therefore witnessing the emergence of a narrative that legitimises prioritising working-age people and workers in access to subsidised housing: the image of the poorly housed employee and the employer without staff is emerging as the new face of poor housing, justifying the reintroduction of housing solutions conditional on an employment contract. Through a discourse analysis of the key players in the housing sector and the legislative changes that have taken place in recent years in favour of this new prioritisation, this paper examines how this discourse serves as a useful vehicle for imposing a utilitarian dimension on subsidised housing, thereby legitimising a challenge to the safeguards put in place to ensure the right to housing, in the name of maintaining economic activity.

Faced with the housing crisis and the resulting stagnation in the housing market, French employers are constrained in their recruitment efforts, and economic activity is consequently affected. We are therefore witnessing the emergence of a narrative that legitimises prioritising working-age people and workers in access to subsidised housing: the image of the poorly housed employee and the employer without staff is emerging as the new face of poor housing, justifying the reintroduction of housing solutions conditional on an employment contract. Through a discourse analysis of the key players in the housing sector and the legislative changes that have taken place in recent years in favour of this new prioritisation, this paper examines how this discourse serves as a useful vehicle for imposing a utilitarian dimension on subsidised housing, thereby legitimising a challenge to the safeguards put in place to ensure the right to housing, in the name of maintaining economic activity.