After the Covid, inflation: the successive crises have clearly aggravated precariousness, to the point that some families have to choose between "feeding themselves and heating themselves", alarmed the Restos du Cœur, which are launching their 38th annual campaign on Tuesday. .

"The first effects of the inflationary crisis are already being felt", underlines the association founded by Coluche: since last April, the number of beneficiaries has jumped by 12% and their difficulties have increased, since 60% (instead of 50 % a year earlier) live in "extreme poverty", that is to say with less than half of the poverty line (551 euros per month).

Some 30% don't even have any resources.

Heating costs taken into account

To better take inflation into account, the association has just adapted its rules: to assess whether a person is eligible for aid, it now takes into account not only their income and rent, but also their heating costs.

Because “at the moment, everything is expensive, it's difficult!

“, notes Ami, 39, a beneficiary met by AFP in a “Resto baby of the Heart” in Paris, where she came to look for something to dress and feed her 11-month-old daughter.

In this center, mothers who come with their toddlers in pushchairs can pick up essential supplies, but also ask for advice or learn how to cook purees for their babies.

"Clothes, diapers, milk and all, it helps us a lot," smiles Ami, stuffing a can of infant formula into her shopping bag.

For Patrice Douret, the president of “Restos”, the current worsening of precariousness leads poor people to more and more renunciations.

"Before, people told us: 'I don't warm myself, but at least I can eat.'

Now they sacrifice on health or energy.

But on top of that, they know they won't have much to eat,” he says.



The fear of a "scissors effect"

Other charities are making the same observation.

Food banks, which are also launching their national collection this week, “are currently responding to a 9% increase in demand, or 200,000 additional people welcomed,” they said in a press release.

And nearly half of the households that requested aid from Secours Catholique last year had an insufficient budget for daily food, the association warns in its recent annual report on poverty.

However, to meet the growing needs of the most precarious, the associations must themselves deal with rising costs, which raises fears of a “scissors effect”.

However, the Restos du Cœur do not plan to reduce the aid provided to their 1.1 million beneficiaries, and therefore appeal more than ever to donations from the French, who contribute to three quarters of the needs of the association.

A generosity all the more necessary since last year, the traditional Enfoirés concert had to be recorded without an audience because of the Covid, which created a shortfall of 4 million euros for the association - on a total budget of around 200 million – which the public authorities have not compensated.

A tax credit for certain volunteers

Another cause for concern: "We have many modest donors," says Patrice Douret, who wonders "until when they can continue to give" in this context of inflation.

In addition, among the tens of thousands of Restos du Cœur volunteers, many are themselves modest or even precarious, and some now have difficulty paying their fuel costs to get to the distribution centers.

Expenses that entitle you to a tax benefit… but only for those who already pay taxes.

“This creates an inequality between our low-income volunteers and the others,” laments Patrice Douret, who has been asking the government for years that on this specific point the reduction be transformed into a tax credit, to also benefit low-income volunteers.

A request that he will have the opportunity to reiterate on Tuesday to the Minister of Solidarity Jean-Christophe Combe, expected in a distribution center in Asnières-sur-Seine, near Paris, for the launch of this 38th campaign.

Miscellaneous facts

Maine-et-Loire: Burglary of a Restos du Coeur center, dozens of canned goods stolen

Culture

Les Enfoirés: Where will the concerts of the 2023 edition take place?

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