2023-09-06 16:43:39
More expensive life. The French barometer of poverty and precariousness, produced by Ipsos and the Secours populaire, has just delivered its results, and they are alarming. The situation continues to deteriorate. “Less than one in two French people say they manage to put money aside (47%, -1 point), and nearly one in five (18%) live uncovered, a figure up 3 points in one year,” the authors note.
“My bread lasts me three days, sometimes four”
According to the latest note from INSEE, over one year, consumer prices would have increased by 4.8% in August 2023. The consequences are brutal: 60% of French people declare that their purchasing power has decreased over the three years, compared to 55% of respondents at European level. “The social situation is always more difficult for a significant part of the French, comments Pierre Latrille, group manager at Ipsos. Rising prices impact the budget and everyday life. We observe concrete difficulties, deprivations on a daily basis, particularly among the most popular categories. This requires ever greater vigilance in managing expenses.
Nearly a third of those surveyed are struggling to provide three meals a day, and “it is very likely that this proportion will be higher this year” according to the expert. Internet user just tells us to practice intermittent fasting, “by skipping one of the three meals of the day”. It is, he quips, “good for (his) wallet and (his) health”. “Heremoana” pulls out the calculator to illustrate his way of saving money: “I buy my wholemeal bread for 1.35 euros. It makes me three days, sometimes four, or 35 centimes a day. If I bought a baguette a day, it would cost me 1 euro a day. Deprivations that are not always enough to avoid the overdraft.
“We manage to manage the red, but for how long? »
Dan, who responded to our call for testimonials, is also in this situation. “For the past few months, we have been regularly going into the red. Impossible to manage over time certain positions that are no longer fixed. She therefore targets “low prices, sales and short dates”, showing great vigilance on a daily basis. Example: “Quick cooking to avoid too much additional gas and electricity costs with the oven, hob and hood. When you have no choice, you grit your teeth in addition to your belt. For the moment, we manage to manage the red at the end of the month, but for how long? »
“By being made redundant in January, I lost 700 euros in income,” says another internet user. “For someone who gets the minimum wage with 800 euros in rent and 300 euros in food for the month, and 130 euros in fuel to work, it’s hard not to be in the red for utilities, water, electricity, insurance. »
Agglo d’agios
In order to avoid the double penalty, with bank penalties which can accumulate between agios, intervention commissions, etc., others opt for a more drastic solution: “I asked for my account to be blocked . That way, no worries. »
Yoann, he chose to “take out a loan to consolidate all (his) debts and get out of the overdraft”. A way of breathing, “but even like that, (he must) be careful, because in the event of a glitch, (he has) no savings to tap into”. Pierre Latrille unfortunately has no good news in the short or medium term: “Inflation is not going down, so there is little chance that things will really improve in the months to come. »
Where is France compared to its European neighbors?
The indicators are red almost everywhere, both in France and in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom or Portugal. “In almost every country, a majority of people say their purchasing power has declined over the past three years. This is a fairly serious warning signal,” insists Pierre Latrille. 60% of French people are affected, compared to 57% of Germans, 64% of Greeks or 59% of Italians.
If we compare France to Germany and the United Kingdom, “the dynamics are more negative on the French side”, explains the group leader at Ipsos. “The situation would tend not to get worse in Germany and the United Kingdom, perhaps because inflation was very high there in 2022, more so than in France. There is perhaps a catch-up effect which would explain why the situation in these countries is developing less negatively. On the other hand, 5% of French people have used an association for food or clothing in the last six months, compared to 9% in the United Kingdom.
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#hard #red.. #open