PARIS,
November 27, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Four
people have been frozen to death in France in a sudden winter freeze
that gripped the country and northern Europe, with Muslim groups
racing to offer shelter and help to thousands of homeless from the
killer blitz.
Police
in the French port city of Calais reported that a 58-year-old homeless
man was found dead Saturday, November 26, in a garage where he had
taken shelter, Agence France Presse (AFP) said.
Other
three homeless people were also reported frozen to death in the French
capital Paris, one of them inside the car where he had been living.
The
Paris region saw about 5 cm (2 inches) of snow while it rose to 10cm
(4 inches) in northwest France.
Traffic
snarled across the European country, with 120 semi-trailers still
blocked at midday on the road from the coast to the Breton capital of
Rennes in France's northwest.
The
French government declared a level two state of alert -- decreed when
daytime temperatures remain negative and sink to between -5 and -10 C
at night -- under its so-called Winter Plan to protect the homeless,
for just over a third of the country.
Muslims
Help
Racing
to offer help and shelter to the homeless hit by the snow wave, the
Islamic Relief has offered food aid to the victims.
French
mosques were also quick to provide shelter to protect people from the
elements, according to IOL correspondent.
He
said many homeless people flock to nearby mosques after the `Isha'
(night) prayers to take shelter till morning.
Muslims
make up some five million of France’s 60 million people, the biggest
Muslim minority in Europe.
Churches
also provided food and clothes to dozens of homeless people, who
queued up to get the aid.
Official
estimates put at 90,000 the number of homeless in France, but NGOs
said there are at least 400,000 without shelter, half of them are
based in Paris.
