In Montpellier, a residence brings together students, retirees and people convalescing. An “intergenerational” model, still rare, but which promotes mutual aid.
In Montpellier, a residence like no other attempts to recreate links between generations. At the Anne Frank house, located on route de Castelnau, retirees, students and people convalescing live under the same roof. Opened a little over a year ago, this structure supported by the Habitat et Humanisme association is intended to be a concrete response to social isolation.
Gilberte receives guests in her 21m² apartment, furnished with care. On the walls, photos of his family. At 92, she joined the Anne Frank residence after a busy life. She says: “I was tired of being alone. My husband died, we stayed married for 60 years.”
When he died, I sold the house, I distributed everything. But there is no one who takes care of you.
The only rule imposed: management wants tenants to eat meals together. At her table, Gilberte and her friend meet other residents, including students. Iheb Hmidi, from Tunisia, is in a master’s degree in management. He pays rent of 380 euros per month for half board. “I have some tasks to do, of course to help the seniors here, and really I’m happy with them.”
video duration: 00h03mn09s
An intergenerational residence in Montpellier welcomes students and elderly people under the same roof.
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© FTV.
The Anne Frank House operates with very few staff. The rent includes accommodation, meals and linen. It is a moderately priced residence with 62 apartments where everyone pays according to their income. The concept appealed to Philippe Léger, a retiree from national education who went through ups and downs.
“When I was head of school, I did intergenerational work with my 6th and 3rd grade students. I took my students to a retirement home that was nearby. There was even an Alzheimer’s area, it was very modern, very new and it’s very funny that barely 15 years later, it’s me who is in this situation, but somehow I’m an actor too.
The oldest tenant is 103 years old, enough to make the director of the establishment, who is present on the premises every day, proud. Here, almost everyone gets involved. Laurent Julien, director of the residence, explains: “The idea is that little by little, everyone who wants to participate. Some every day, others from time to time. It depends a little on their form.”
They live together. Sometimes there are a few tensions, like in a family, but we resolve them peacefully, like in a family.
Laurent Julien, director of the residence.
Table football has no equal when it comes to breaking the loneliness. Michèle, a journalism student, left everything in Cameroon. She confides: “For foreign students, particularly when they travel, there is a lot of solitude. Coming down at lunchtime or in the evening to eat, seeing others, it’s good to talk. There’s a lot of laughter, we tease each other a little.”
Marouane Oukhatar, in civic service, learns a lot from elders. “I like spending time with my grandmother and in the residence, it reminds me of that. I like spending time here. Doing entertainment is really what I want to do when I grow up.”
After more than a year of activity, the Anne Frank House of Habitat and Humanism has found a balance between the generations. It now remains to achieve financial balance in 2026.
Written with Laurent Beaumel.
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