- The government will pay this Friday emergency aid of 150 euros to families most in need.
- The Minister of Housing, Julien Denormandie, announces at 20 Minutes the number of families that will be affected.
- It also details the help for precarious young people, the supports planned to help the French to pay their rent ... And it responds to criticisms from charitable associations.
Since the start of the health crisis, the precariousness experienced by some French people has suddenly worsened. To respond, the government will pay emergency aid of 150 euros to families in difficulty this Friday. Housing Minister Julien Denormandie announces at 20 Minutes the number of families that will be affected. The opportunity for him also to come back to the other social benefits that have been decided by the government since the start of the crisis.
The health crisis and confinement have tipped some French people from precariousness to poverty. Can you already measure the extent of the phenomenon?
The crisis we are going through has an undeniable social impact. We do not have precise statistics on the subject. But we see on a daily basis, on the ground, that people are finding it even more difficult to make ends meet than usual, and more and more people are asking for food aid. The social issue is a priority and we must respond to it. This is also why the government has implemented a series of exceptional aid.
This Friday will be paid the emergency aid of 150 euros announced by the government for families in most difficulty. How many beneficiaries will it benefit?
This emergency aid will automatically go to 4 million families in need, which will reach 5 million children. It will benefit all families on the RSA (active solidarity income) or SSA (specific solidarity allowance), which will receive 150 euros. And in addition to that, all families touching the APL (personalized housing assistance), the RSA or the ASSwill benefit in addition to 100 euros per child. We have decided that this aid will be paid automatically by the CAF (Family Allowance Fund) to avoid the non-use of people who would have been eligible for this device, but who would not necessarily have taken the steps to obtain it.
Several charities believe that this aid is too low and that it should be paid twice. What do you say to them?
That this aid has first of all the merit of existing and that it is important, since it represents in all 900 million euros. It is also a witness to the fact that the government's response to the crisis we are going through is health, economic but also social. And it comes in addition to other aid that we are putting in place: the solidarity fund, the measures concerning short-time working, the food aid plan of 50 million euros ... No one can understand what the months of June and July depending on the evolution of the job market. What is certain is that the government will continue social support in the coming months, in one form or another.
This aid does not benefit the elderly beneficiaries of the ASPA (minimum old age) and the beneficiaries of the AAH (allowance for disabled adults). Why did you leave them out?
No one is left behind: 260,000 families benefiting from AAH and APL will also receive exceptional solidarity aid. The objective of this one is clear: to support the families which are confronted with an increase in their expenses, in particular food, because of the end of the access to the canteen during confinement. It will massively benefit households that have been and are still facing this situation.
At the beginning of April, the government launched the distribution of 15 million euros in checks - service in the amount of 3.50 euros , to enable households in difficulty to buy basic necessities. Who has benefited? Is another boost possible?
In early April, these service vouchers were aimed at people in very precarious situations (homeless people or people living in emergency accommodation centers). Every day, 90,000 people in very precarious situations benefit from it. Ten days ago, we announced with Christelle Dubos an additional envelope of 39 million euros for food aid and to distribute service vouchers to low-income families. Nearly 100,000 households are affected.
In May, the government announced aid of 200 euros to 800,000 precarious young people, whom they will not touch until June 15. Why did you wait so long, when many were already in trouble from the start of containment?
From the start of the crisis, an additional 10 million euros dedicated to emergency aid was released by Frédérique Vidal [Minister of Higher Education] for students in difficulty. And there is always a gap between the announcement of aid and its technical implementation, to minimize non-recourse. Sometimes it is more effective to take a little time to make sure that those eligible for help will reach them, rather than rushing. In any case, the aid that we are going to pay will enable precarious young people, students or not, to cope with the drop in income they face with the end of the odd jobs they used to have.
In a recent forum, representatives of associations plead for the opening of the RSA to young people from 18 years old. Is the government reluctant to accept this idea?
The priority for those under 25 is to support them to enable them to find a job. But it is true that they do not have a safety net. The government has always said on this point that it would act methodically, and that the question would be asked for the establishment of the RUA (Universal Activity Income). Consultations are underway on the subject. Nothing has been decided yet.
What is the extent of unpaid rent since the start of containment?
We do not have consolidated statistics on the subject, but indicators show that this phenomenon is expanding. We have set up the “Sos unpaid rents” platform (08 05 16 00 75), which provides access to expert advice to find individual solutions. Since the beginning of the crisis, we have also mobilized the Housing Solidarity Fund (FSL), managed by local authorities and endowed with 350 million euros, so that it grants financial aid to people who encounter difficulties in paying their rent. We have also set up personalized support from social landlords so that individual solutions can be found for tenants in difficulty (spreading or deferral of rents).
Associations request the creation of a national fund to help pay the receipt. Is this idea possible?
The challenge today is that people have effective access to the aid that exists. You must already use the Housing Solidarity Fund.
You announced the extension of the winter truce on rental evictions until July 10. Could it still be postponed?
We have already postponed it to May 31, then July 10. This question depends on the situation in which the country will be in mid-July. What is certain is that on two occasions the hand of the government has not trembled to postpone the end of the winter break, and this to avoid any rental eviction.
Will the sites all resume at the end of May as you have planned?
Yes, and the recovery is already there. Today, one site in two has already restarted, there was one in three ten days ago. There is a desire for recovery among employees in the sector and among the French who need housing. This recovery is not easy, but it is doable. We have also made sure that health and legal conditions are guaranteed for this resumption of construction.
Do you think the real estate market will be very affected by the crisis?
It is too early to tell. But we know that many French people have returned to real estate agencies this week and that they are confident in their project. In addition, the confinement was conducive to questioning new real estate projects. What is certain is that the market will be a major element in the economic recovery of our country.
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