"We need a social inflection from the government," says Christophe Robert

Christophe Robert, delegate general of the Abbé-Pierre Foundation, analyzes the social policy of the government since the beginning of the quinquennium

Christophe Robert, the general delegate of the Abbé Pierre Foundation, in the sudio of the newspaper 20 Minutes, January 22, 2020. - Olivier Juszczak / 20 Minutes

Every Friday, 20 Minutes offers a personality to comment on a social phenomenon, in their weekly meeting " 20 Minutes with ...".
While the report on the poor housing of the Abbé-Pierre Foundation will be released next Thursday, its general delegate, Christophe Robert, analyzes the situation of the most precarious and returns to the social policy of the government.
For him, there is an urgent need for the government to act towards the poorest 10% of our country.

He is Abbé Pierre's dolphin, and he has the same enthusiasm for defending the situation of the most disadvantaged in our country. A week before the publication of the report on poor housing, Christophe Robert, the general delegate of the Abbé-Pierre Foundation, returns to the widening of inequalities in France and analyzes the government's social policy since the start of the five-year term. He demands a social inflection from Macronian politics.

In a few days, you will unveil the poor housing report. Has the situation of poorly housed worsened since last year?

We suffer from a lack of statistical data. But according to INSEE, between 2001 and 2012, the number of homeless people increased by 50%. And with the solidarity nights of people counting on the street organized by certain cities, we know that the phenomenon has significantly increased. Another indicator: in the first week of January, 37% of those who called 115 were offered no solution. In addition, the number of people forced by excessive spending on housing increased by 42% between 2006 and 2013, which shows the strong tension on housing.

According to the Oxfam report, in France, inequality has started to rise again since 2018. How do you explain this situation?

Inequalities are widening and we are witnessing an unbearable over-concentration of the wealth held by a handful of people. In France, 10% of the wealthiest households have 50% of the country's wealth. A situation which is largely due to the increase in their property assets.

Is tax policy in France one of the keys to this increase in inequality?

Certain tax choices since the beginning of the five-year period have contributed to widening inequalities: the abolition of the wealth tax and its replacement by a property wealth tax, a single flat-rate deduction which allowed a cap on the income tax. capital ... The richest 10% captured a third of the gains linked to these reforms in 2018. At the same time, we are witnessing a decrease in tax inflows, which reduces the ability to carry out social policies and develop public services. And we will still witness 10 billion euros less in public coffers due to the abolition of the housing tax for the wealthiest 20%. We are the opposite of the solidarity society advocated by Father Pierre.

But the government has yet put in place social measures after the crisis of "yellow vests" ...

He tried to partially correct the situation, by deciding to increase the activity premium, the widening of the energy voucher, tax cuts ... But all the measures of the past two years have been unprofitable to the poorest: for the poorest 5%, they represent on average 11 euros more purchasing power in 2020, 1,000 euros for part of the middle classes, but can reach 23,000 euros for the 0.1% more rich. It seems that the government now believes that it has done its job in meeting the needs of the lower middle classes. But he forgot the poorest. There has been no revaluation of the RSA (Active Solidarity Income) for example. The state must protect the poorest 10%, this is essential.

Has France's redistribution system become less protective for the poorest?

Even today, France has one of the best social protection systems in the world. It has functioned as a bulwark during economic crises, which has prevented certain people from falling into deep poverty. But the government's guidelines do not help to strengthen it and above all to reduce inequalities.

But can the French social model still persist when the debt exceeded 100% of GDP in September?

Yes, because these are purely political choices. We are not saying that the government is doing nothing: there is the poverty strategy, additional resources dedicated to emergency accommodation ... But much more ambition is needed. And certain measures, such as rent controls that should be reinforced, cost nothing.

You regularly alert about the situation of young people under 25. Has their situation got worse?

The unemployment rate for those under 25 is 20.8%, the poverty rate for 18-29 year olds is 19.7% and a quarter of the homeless are between 18 and 29 years old. Because not all young people have the chance to benefit from family solidarity in the event of a hardship. And those under 25 do not benefit from the RSA. In addition, the unemployment insurance reform will hit young people with precarious jobs hard. As well as the reform of the APL (Personalized housing assistance) which will be implemented in April. We know that the future RUA (Universal activity income) should open a right for young people under 25 to a social benefit. But at this stage, we do not know which categories of young people will be affected, nor the amount of this aid and the RUA will not be operational in 2023. Young people cannot wait until this date for help.

The government believes that the pension reform will reduce inequalities. Do you agree?

Traders, farmers and artisans, faced with very low pensions, should see their situation improve. But the minimum pension level of 1,000 euros for a person who has contributed all his life is not enough. It must be put at the level of the net minimum wage.

We remember the expressions of Emmanuel Macron at the start of his five-year term: "People who are nothing", "the crazy money of social minima" ... Has he changed your tone vis-à-vis the most modest ?

Yes, there seems to have been an inflection of speeches. In any case, his words shocked. The poorest people sometimes already have the feeling of being singled out, some may be ashamed of having to go to the Restos du Coeur, to live in rotten housing, to touch the RSA… If in addition, the speech of the President of the Republic suggests that the situation they live in, they have chosen a little and that they could easily change it, it is very violent. It ignores each individual story.

The PS is not very audible in the public debate today, don't you have the impression that the spokespersons of charitable associations have become the only voices to carry a social discourse?

The question of the fight against poverty and inequality must not be the prerogative of a party. It's everyone's business. There is indeed too little political discourse on inequality, while politics is also a vision of society. And this question was omnipresent during the great national debate.

What do you expect from the government by the end of the five-year term?

With 54 other associations, unions, mutualists, we have produced a power to live pact. We have proposals: a more progressive tax, taxing dividends more heavily, regulating rents in tense areas, going back on the cuts made on APLs, putting an end to derogations that benefit capital income to be able to do more for a more social and ecological society… We hope that these ideas will be followed. There really needs to be a social inflection from the government.

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