one in five French people would live in the open

Inflation over the past two years has continued to affect the financial situation of households. THE 17^e “Barometer of poverty and precariousness”published Wednesday August 6 by Secours populaire and Ipsos, testifies to an increase in the difficulties encountered by the French to complete their months and afford even the most essential goods.

Nearly one in five French people (18%) would live in the open according to the survey, conducted in June among 996 people; an increase of three points in one year. Forty-seven percent of the population would fail to save money, down one point over the last twelve months.

On a day-to-day basis, this casualization leads to growing difficulties in meeting current expenses. Forty-five per cent of French people contacted say they have trouble paying for certain medical procedures (+6 points) and their energy costs (+4 points); 43% for consuming fresh fruit and vegetables (+6 points).

These indices, records for seventeen years and the first edition of the barometer, are particularly worrying among the most modest households. Sixty-three percent of people whose net monthly household income is less than 1,200 euros per month claim to have difficulty paying for certain medical acts (+ 10 points in one year).

One in three Europeans in a precarious situation

The survey highlights a deterioration in the standard of living across borders. The European part of the barometer, carried out among 10,000 people residing in ten countries (Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom, Moldova, Portugal, Romania and Serbia), reveals that 29% of them say they in a precarious situation. They are even almost half to describe themselves as such in Greece (49%) and Moldova (46%).

Because of a “difficult financial situation”, 62% of Europeans have already restricted their movements and 46% have already given up increasing the heating in their homes despite the cold. Stable figures compared to the same survey carried out last year, but which had been conducted in only six European countries (Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom).

“Because of the decline in their purchasing power, more than a third of Europeans regularly restrict themselves on the quantities of food they consume”specifies the 2023 study. Thus, 38% of respondents do not eat three meals a day, 39% give up buying meat and 10% use ociations for food.