The housing problem

With over 50,000 housing units destroyed and 210,000 damaged, the primary preoccupation was to find a roof for victims. Technical services for emergency works assisted notably by the unemployed, proceeded with clearing streets, and felling panels of menacing walls. In 1921, these emergency works were completed and recovered materials were reused for the construction of temporary houses. Shacks in wood, tarred cardboard, or sheet metal were made available to residents but they were of insufficient number and protected poorly from inclement weather. So, victims were then relocated to military camps and then, starting in 1920, semi-temporary permanent housing was built. The Eternit company in the Valenciennes area perfected an asbestos-cement process to replace the tarred cardboard of the first shacks. In 1921, work on urban facilities began: sidewalks, water runoff, etc. Schools, churches, and public buildings such as the post office or city hall were also installed in shacks. In 1923, there were still 208 temporary schools.