“The situation is becoming dramatic for people in poverty,” warns the president of Secours Catholique.

Every year, Secours Catholique publishes its state of poverty in France, based on the situation of millions of people admitted in 2021 by 60,000 volunteers in the charity’s 2,400 centers. The 2022 edition, published this Thursday, November 17, is another warning sent to public authorities as the situation worsened in a short time due to the pandemic and rising inflation. On this occasion, Le Figaro, exclusively met Véronique Davis.

LE FIGARO – Secours Catholique recently published its annual report on the state of poverty in France. What are the highlights of the 2022 edition?

Véronique DEVISE. For this 2022 edition, we conducted an unprecedented study of household budgets before, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. And the most remarkable point is undoubtedly the lives of people living in poverty that we met in our receptions. Crises pass, but the amount they have left to live on has continued to decrease and is now no more than… 5 euros per day and per person for half of the people they meet, that is, compared to the level of 0.5 to 1 depreciation of the euro. observed before the crisis. However, after paying all the constrained expenses and the debts accumulated over the years, a minimum of 7 euros per day and per person is needed to be able to eat properly. With 5 euros left to live on, poor people must therefore not only eat, but also clothe themselves, take care of themselves, and possibly pay for the children’s entertainment. We clearly see that it is impossible.

Another important point is permanent. the first thing that those who come to our receptions require is to listen. We forget it, but poverty excludes and isolates. Last year, the 940,000 people we welcomed found in our 60,000 volunteers the comfort, brotherhood and long-term listening they needed to rise out of poverty. Because, we should not doubt that poverty suffers and is not satisfied with it. Support, which is the basis of our association’s existence, is very important. State authorities should allocate more resources to it.

How to explain the sharp growth especially in the 60s?

The share of people over 60 among the people we welcome, without becoming a majority (average age is 41), has been slowly but inexorably increasing for 6 years. These are either people who are waiting for their pension to be liquidated and have nothing, or people who have already retired but do not have enough to live on. All those people who have had troubled careers and now find themselves with pensioners on small pensions, come to unions like others… We are witnessing a return to impoverishment of a certain category of people reaching retirement age in France. We are also seeing more and more single women who are over 50, whose families have broken up and who no longer have safety nets.

“We are witnessing the impoverishment of a certain category of people reaching retirement age in France.”

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What is the profile of the people the volunteers receive every day?

A third of the people we welcome are single families, mostly young women. We also meet single women and men who are slightly older, the working poor, who have been affected by the crisis despite government action. Half of those supported are foreign nationals, a fairly young population, 22% of whom live on the street or in unstable housing (settlements, with family, etc.). They speak French quite well, but find it difficult to fit in, especially because of their legal status. And yet, the experiences of Ukrainians who have enjoyed rights and work show us that being a foreigner and integrating is possible.

Are you already seeing the ravages of runaway inflation in the population you support?

Every month we monitor the budgets of the people we accept in our centers and we actually see an increase in applications for financial aid. They all do endless calculations to make their purchases or pay their bills. They come to save everything or change their habits to sink a little more; some no longer wash their laundry except by hand to reduce electricity consumption, others no longer wash dishes every day to save hot water or to heat only one room. of the two. With the explosion of prices, the situation becomes dramatic for people living in poverty. I am really very worried. we are not far from the explosion… Being in deprivation always has psychological and health consequences. We absolutely must do more for these 9 million people who are in permanent deprivation.

I am really very worried. we are not far from the explosion… Being in deprivation always leads to psychological and health consequences;

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One of the important aspects of poverty in France is related to unstable housing conditions. What is the evolution in 2022?

Poor people who own housing often live in heat shacks or uncomfortable accommodation. And with inflation, they suffer a double penalty: inconvenience and an explosion in energy costs. For this particular population, housing costs can account for up to 60% of their monthly budget, double the national average. Helping these families to renovate their homes therefore becomes imperative. Because for those people, after the state aid, what remains may be several thousand euros. It’s still too much for them to finance and they refuse to insulate their homes properly.

Looking back, what has the Covid-19 crisis changed for the audience you welcome?

People who were poor before Covid-19 are poorer. We still do not have enough perspective to measure the psychological consequences of the epidemic. Young people have suffered a lot, many of them are in poverty. The government has created the Youth Engagement Agreement, which is a real step forward, but it is imperative to invest more in young people and children… The crisis has also had consequences for the work of volunteers. With restrictions and restrictions on freedom of movement, we went more to the families that requested us. That is why the association, with the help of the France Relance program, financed a dozen brotherhood to go where poverty hides, especially in rural and peri-urban areas.

“People who were poor before Covid-19 are poorer”.

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After four years, how do you evaluate the national strategy for the prevention and fight against poverty launched by Emmanuel Macron?

Associations such as Secours Catholique have invested heavily in this strategy. We strongly believed in it, but four years later it is clear that we are far from the poverty reduction goals that were announced at the time. Things have been done, it is true, but the result is disappointing. Tackling the creation of Zero Non-Resource Areas with the Zero Areas Model for the Long-Term Unemployed would be a good way to pay aid first. Getting out of poverty through work is not possible for everyone, that is the reality. Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne recently introduced us to “ solidarity agreement very ambitious, but we now ask that it be translated into action.

What recommendations do you make to the government?

As a priority, the increase of the RSA, which should represent 40% of the average income, or 755 euros per month, and therefore an increase of 150 euros per person compared to today, to be able to eradicate extreme poverty in France. . We ask that a minimum income be allocated to the underprivileged youth. We are also asking the state authorities for an initiative program to repair houses and act against thermal sieves. Since the state’s resources are limited, the government must direct its support to the most modest households. The poor ask to be accompanied, not helped. They want to get out of it, but they can’t do it alone. They need social services or associations like ours to support them over time. It is absolutely essential to emphasize this accompaniment. This is the key to success. Let’s never forget that they are suffering from this situation, they didn’t choose it…