The risk of social isolation is more pronounced for elderly people living in priority neighborhoods (32%) and in small towns with 2,000 to 20,000 inhabitants. This is the result of a study conducted in September on 1500 characters aged 60 and over by the CSA and published Sunday by the association the Little Brothers of the Poor. Seniors in so-called "sensitive" neighborhoods feel lonely for many reasons: less attachment to their housing, their municipality and the fear of not aging serenely.
According to the association The Little Brothers of the Poor, they suffer from policies of the city focused on youth but also housing or public infrastructure unsuitable for their mobility.
Women, more affected by loneliness
The study reveals that 4.6 million French people over 60 years of age feel lonely. And 3.2 million of them are even at risk of relational isolation. They can spend whole days without talking to anyone. The three regions most affected are the Center Val-de-Loire, Burgundy Franche-Comté and New Aquitaine.
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The most affected profiles are women, people over 85 and seniors with low incomes.
A lack of public services in rural areas
The study also looks at the differences between rural and urban areas. Isolation is aggravated by weak contact between neighbors in the cities: 50% of the seniors surveyed living in big cities do not have regular contact with their neighbors.
In rural areas, solidarity is stronger: 70% of respondents consider that people are in solidarity with each other. But the lack of public service contributes to isolation. 62% of them find public services less and less accessible.
The association has issued fifteen recommendations to remedy this situation as the intergenerational habitat or the maintenance of local shops and public services.