2 PROCEDURE 1. The complaint lodged by ATD Fourth World was registered on 26 January 2006. It alleges that France is in violation of Articles 16, 30 and 31 of the revised European Social Charter (the “revised Charter”), alone or taken in conjunction with Article E. The Committee declared the complaint admissible on 12 June 2006. 2. In accordance with Article 7§§1 and 2 of the Protocol providing for a system of collective complaints (“the Protocol”) and the Committee's decision on the admissibility of the complaint, the Executive Secretary communicated the text of the admissibility decision on 15 June 2006 to the French Government (“the Government”) and ATD Fourth World, and on 21 June to the States party to the Protocol, the States having ratified the revised Charter and having made a declaration under Article D§2 of the revised Charter, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe (UNICE) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). 3. In accordance with Rule 31§1 of the Committee’s Rules of Procedure, the Committee fixed a deadline of 30 September 2006 for the presentation of the Government’s written submissions on the merits. The submissions were registered on 29 September 2006. 4. In accordance with Rule 31§2, the President set 10 November 2006 as the deadline for ATD Fourth World to present its response to the Government’s submissions. The response was registered on 10 November 2006. 5. The Committee set 30 September 2006 as the deadline for any observations from the States party to the Protocol as well as from the ETUC, UNICE and the IOE. The ECTU submitted its observations on 3 October 2006. It supported ATD Fourth World's complaint. 6. At its 221st session (19-23 March 2007), in accordance with Rule 33§1 of its Rules of Procedure, the Committee decided to hold a joint public hearing with representatives of the parties to collective complaints Nos. 33/2006 ATD Fourth World v. France and 39/2006 European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) v. France. 7. At the Government’s request, the initial deadline for written submissions on the merits of the complaint (18 May) was extended to 1 June 2007 and, as a result, the date of the public hearing was put back. 8. The public hearing took place in the Human Rights Building in Strasbourg on 25 June 2007.