• On Tuesday, the Restos du Coeur launched their 38th national campaign against a "background of aggravated precariousness" with a 12% increase in the number of people compared to last April.

  • In the Alpes-Maritimes, "it's getting worse and worse", notes the manager of a center in Nice who notes an increase of 25% in the department.

  • He fears for the months to come when the price of energy will increase and where families “will have to choose between eating or heating”.

That morning, rue Dabray, the reception room is full in this center of the Restos du Coeur de Nice.

It is the largest in the capital of the Côte d'Azur with more than 650 people who are welcomed.

“It gets complicated, loose Gérard, host of the place.

We would like to be able to receive everyone, even with a little coffee to keep them waiting, but that's impossible.

Some days there are even queues outside the door.

»

On Tuesday, the association launched its 38th national campaign against a "background of aggravated precariousness" with a 12% increase in the number of people compared to last April.

And in the Alpes-Maritimes, "it's getting worse and worse", notes the manager who notes an increase of 25% in the department.

“What worries me is that the children of today will be the beneficiaries of tomorrow,” he breathes.

Choosing between eating or heating

The reasons for these "alarming" figures and this "unprecedented" situation, in the words of the communication officer of Restos du cœur des Alpes-Maritimes, are multiple.

“First of all, the department is one of those that have received the most Ukrainian refugees, who are all registered to receive food aid, continues François Chantrait.

But there is also inflation which first affects basic products which are the main races of the most fragile.

Which makes the situation even worse.

And with the rise in energy prices in January, we will have even more people.

Some families will have to choose between eating or heating.

»

This is already the case for Marie, 35, who comes from Paris.

"I recently arrived in Nice," she explains.

Rents are cheaper but there is also a better climate, which means you wear less clothes and therefore do less laundry.

“Dressed in a down jacket and shorts, she never imagined one day walking through the doors of restaurants.

“I lost my job, I only have the RSA, launches this former employee in the medical field.

For a long time, I lived on odd jobs, but you are never safe from misery that happens from one day to the next.

Fortunately, there are structures like this.

»

Since October, she has been coming to this center once a week for “food aid” but also “clothes” and “books”.

Near her that day, another beneficiary is served by a volunteer.

"On the surface, it doesn't look like she's coming to Restos du Coeur," comments Gérard.

We have a lot of people like that, whose problems we can't imagine.

There are so many people you meet who shouldn't even be precarious, who sleep in their car while they work, who resell every item so they can eat.

»

Precariousness has exploded in the valleys

In addition to the 19 centers in the Alpes-Maritimes, the association organizes “tours” in the valleys to bring food to the site.

François Chantrait then explains: “We have a significant indicator of the situation we are experiencing.

In these isolated areas, where it is even colder, precariousness has completely exploded.

We have never seen that.

»

Gérard points out that he has already been asked to open the Dabray center on Saturdays.

"We wonder how we're going to do it, but we believe in generosity," he agreed.



Volunteers fear that “people who donate can no longer do so because they also need it”.

This is also the case for volunteers, between 650 and 700 in the department, who are sometimes even more affected than those they help.

"It is for this reason that our call is also directed towards these citizens, without them, we could not do all this", says Gérard.

In the Alpes-Maritimes, more than 30,000 people are welcomed by the Restos du Coeur, including 800 children, and more than 2.3 million meals have been served this year.

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  • Food from the heart

  • Inflation