Anti-poverty charity Secours Populaire Français has published a survey revealing that one in five French people are in a financially precarious situation, with one in three at imminent risk of falling into poverty.
"Financial instability is becoming increasingly entrenched in France, affecting all aspects of life – whether health, leisure or family life," Henriette Steinberg, secretary-general of Secours Populaire, told news agency AFP.
The charity has published its annual barometer, which shows that a third of French people (31 percent) are struggling to afford enough healthy food for three meals a day.
The survey of 1,000 people, carried out by Ipsos on behalf of Secours Populaire, also found that 39 percent have difficulty paying their electricity bills, while 49 percent can't afford an annual holiday.
One-third say they are at "significant" or "very significant" risk of falling into poverty in the coming months, having insufficient savings to cope with unforeseen events, such as an increase in fuel prices or the need to help a family member.
One in five French people consider themselves to be in a financially precarious situation for various reasons, including insufficient income, unexpected expenses and excessive deb, while three in five (57 percent) said they had a close family member or friend living in poverty.
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Fifteen years of decline
This figure of 20 percent is a slight drop from last year's 24 percent. However, despite this "slight improvement" which the charity links to the slowdown in inflation, it calls what the barometer reveals "a social situation that remains very worrying".
"The situation in France has deteriorated’ over the last 15 years said Steinberg, while acknowledging the recent "stabilisation". The charity has published its barometer every year since 2007.
Anne Rubinstein, the inter-ministerial delegate for poverty prevention and control, last week spoke of the "difficulties" encountered by the State in reducing poverty rates – which in 2023 reached their highest level since 1996 in mainland France.
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Parental guilt
In 2024, Secours Populaire supported 3.7 million people in France, providing food aid and organising activities to counter the isolation poverty can bring.
In the city of Clermont-Ferrand in central France, requests for Secours Populaire's assistance jumped 30 percent between 2023 and 2024.
Élodie, who volunteers at the local branch of the charity, said: "We have 100 new registrations per month. These are pensioners, foreign students, people whose jobs do not pay enough to lift them out of poverty."
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Living on a financial knife edge has a significant effect on mental health, the survey found, with 74 percent of those struggling financially saying they felt "sad, depressed or hopeless".
Of the parents surveyed, half said they felt guilty over not being able to give their children the things they want – with more than 20 percent of children in France living in poverty.
