INTERVIEW
It is a real distress call. While the European Council meets on Thursday to discuss an economic recovery plan of 750 billion euros and examine its 2021/2027 budget, around thirty associations from the Old Continent, including the Restos du Coeur, challenge the 'EU. They want the European Fund for Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) to be strengthened. "The state of social emergency will intensify in the coming months because of the economic crisis that is looming," said Friday at the microphone of Europe 1 Philip Modolo, secretary general of Restos du Coeur.
>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation
At least 40% more requests for help in 10% of Restos du Coeur centers
"90 million Europeans live below the poverty line, including nine in France", and these figures are bound to increase. "We see on the ground people already in a precarious situation before the health crisis who have fallen into a demand for food aid", these are "seasonal workers, precarious workers with short contracts, students who no longer arrive to find a job or even self-entrepreneurs, "points out Philip Modolo.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> Coronavirus in China: should we worry about the new situation?
> Schools, taxes, fight against racism… What you should remember from Emmanuel Macron's speech
> Coronavirus: 5 mistakes not to make with your mask
> Coronavirus: three initiatives that will disrupt our beach habits
> Between empty TGV and TER at a discount, SNCF is preparing for a bad summer
> Can we catch the coronavirus on a plane?
"In 25% of our centers, we see an increase in requests of at least 20%" he indicates. An increase in aid which even reaches 40% for 10% of the structures managed by the association founded by Coluche. "It's colossal, and the situation is getting worse from week to week. We are very concerned about it."
Summer reserves already started
Especially since to cope with this increase in the number of beneficiaries, the Restos du Coeur had to draw on their food reserves for the summer. Thus jeopardizing their ability to assume the distributions "in the coming months".