The risk of falling into poverty is increasing due to the economic consequences of the health crisis. – Pixabay
Monetary poverty, but also psychological distress, isolation, dropping out of school … The health crisis has “multiplied” the precarious situations in France, according to a report from the National Council for the fight against poverty and social exclusion. The crisis linked to Covid-19 “has caused a worsening of an already degraded condition, as much as the exposure of new audiences to poverty”, note the authors of this report submitted Wednesday to Jean Castex, worrying about a probable “time bomb”.
The Prime Minister had mandated in January this body attached to Matignon, made up of 64 members (researchers, representatives of associations, parliamentarians and local authorities, and people concerned), to “characterize” poverty since the pandemic. In 2019, France had 9.1 million so-called “poor” people, that is to say with less than 1,070 euros net per month, a figure down 0.3% compared to 2018 but which could greatly increase for 2020.
The independents suffered
The figure will not be known until the end of 2021, but the first trends are already emerging. In recent months, associations have warned of an explosion in demands, especially for food, the number of RSA beneficiaries has passed the two million mark (+ 4.8% in one year), and unemployment has increased by 6, 3% over one year, according to the latest official figures. “The crisis has acted as much as an indicator as an accelerator of poverty,” MP Fiona Lazaar (ex-LREM), CNLE president, told AFP.
Business disruptions, the weight of housing in the budget, closure of public services, health inequalities, youth “sacrificed”: the pandemic “has prevented exits from poverty, thrown in people who were already on the wire, and led unexpected arrivals in social hotlines, such as that of the self-employed (traders, artisans, self-employed people, etc.) who were particularly exposed to the economic shock, ”she continues.
Young people under 25 very affected
However, “there are safety nets, such as the RSA, partial unemployment, or targeted aid, which allowed the French to have a minimum to live”, underlines Fiona Lazaar, regretting however “deficiencies” in particular to help young people under 25, a category already heavily impacted by poverty before the crisis.
“By the fall”, the CNLE will offer the government “a barometer to monitor the effects of the crisis on precarious populations in as real time as possible”. A tool whose results will be presented quarterly, according to its president.