“The bamboche is over”, had launched prefect of the Center-Val-de-Loire (during confinement, of course), “the end of abundance”, declared very recently Emmanuel Macron. Expressions which for 38% are already a lived reality, according to the barometer produced by Ipsos for the Secours populaire made public this Wednesday.
According to this study conducted among a thousand people constituting a representative sample of the French population aged 16 and over, more than one out of three French people questioned declared that they knew or had known a situation of poverty. A proportion up three points (or 8%) compared to last year but still below the peak of 2013 (41%).
More worryingly, never before had so many French people reported having difficulty meeting daily expenses. This barometer thus marks several records with 47% of those questioned who struggle to go on vacation once a year, 45% who struggle with their transport costs, 42% to equip their children (clothes, school supplies), 41% to pay their gas and electricity bills and 37% to eat fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Data that reflects the current inflation records. Unsurprisingly, 15% of French people say they live in the open, a rate that is however stable compared to 2021, although among these 13% consider themselves to be in an increasingly critical economic situation.
A section on the feelings of children
A second part of this study is devoted to the feelings of children aged 8 to 14 years. Thus, a majority of them say they are aware that other children in their environment lack money. Up to 71% believe that some of their peers never go on vacation, and one in two find that other school children never have new clothes or shoes.
It should also be noted, again according to this study, that the war in Ukraine worries children as much as global warming. Two subjects about which 80% say they are worried.