For a month now, asking for alms has been banned in some areas of the city center, but there are people who consider it an inhumane and illegitimate decision
Since January 15, a regulation banning begging in the most central areas of the city of Luxembourg has been in force to combat what city authorities call “begging by organized gangs” or “aggressive begging.” A month after its introduction, the measure continues to be the focus of criticism, particularly from human rights organizations and center-left opposition parties, who consider it illegal and inhumane.
The regulation prohibits begging from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Ville-Haute, the most central district of the Luxembourg capital, but begging is also prohibited in all squares, parks, playgrounds and public parking lots in the city. Anyone caught doing this risks a fine of 25 to 250 euros. The local administration said it introduced the measure to protect the safety of residents and visitors, as well as local businesses, given the increase in begging seen in the city in recent years.
The ban was approved by the city government in March 2023, but then blocked by then-Luxembourg Interior Minister Taina Bofferding. It came into force after the approval in December of his successor Léon Gloden, who added that poor and homeless people would continue to receive help from social services and in night shelters.
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114,000 of the approximately 640,000 inhabitants of the Grand Duchy of the same name live in Luxembourg, which is the country with the highest per capita income in Europe. Some residents interviewed by Euronews said they had noticed an increase in the number of people living on the streets (including in Italy) and the number of beggars. However, according to many, the government of conservative Prime Minister Luc Frieden is not doing enough to address the situation and banning begging does not appear to be the solution to the problem.
The ban was contested by both charities and human rights activists, who organized a protest shortly after it was introduced and collected more than 4,500 signatures needed to demand a debate on the issue in Parliament. It has also been criticized by homeless people themselves: a man called Pit, who has been living on the streets for ten years, told public broadcaster RTL that some people “take the risk of becoming criminals and stealing in order to survive”. The measure may also not be legal.
Fernanda Pérez Solla, current director of Amnesty International in Luxembourg, recalled that sanctions against beggars, based on a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, violate the rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). For this reason, according to Amnesty, Luxembourg does not have the authority to introduce similar measures. Luxembourg prosecutor Georges Oswald pointed out that the ban on begging in Luxembourg was removed from the criminal code as part of the 2008 immigration reform and that the measure approved by Gloden was therefore unlawful.
At the end of January, four opposition parties called on Frieden to take a stand on the issue. The president of the country's Supreme Court and Constitutional Court, Thierry Hoscheit, again argued to RTL that it is ultimately up to the Court of Cassation to determine whether the measure is legitimate.
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