According to a study by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, five million homes are poorly insulated.

In total, 11 million French people are affected by this environmental and social disaster.

The stimulus package presented by the government on Wednesday must tackle the problem.

While the recovery plan will be presented Thursday by the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, a large part will be devoted to the energy transition.

And in particular to these dwellings which, because they are very poorly insulated and cause enormous energy losses, are qualified as "thermal strainers".

A new study published on this subject by the Ministry of Ecological Transition establishes the number of dwellings that deserve this designation at 5 million, or one in five.

The inhabitants most affected are the modest tenants of the private park.

They occupy 30% of these habitats rated F or G on the energy performance diagnostic scale.

150 euros heating for a studio

While most of these tenants live in individual houses located in rural departments, such as Nièvre, Creuse or Cantal, others are in apartments.

This is the case with Alex.

The windows in her studio no longer block the air, and even the walls don't retain heat for long.

"Look, the joint that is used to hold the tile leaves! I have 150 euros of heating per month in winter. And if you want to take a shower, it's frozen."

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Alex's owner is his own brother.

A man with a temporary salary who does not allow him to start the work he should.

"We see the brick, the humidity ... it takes at least 15,000 euros", exclaims Alex.

"Even with the helpers, it's impossible."

Numerous but illegible aids

Yet aid has never been so numerous.

The government has set itself the goal of 500,000 homes renovated per year in order to turn them into "low consumption buildings", that is to say classified A or B, as only 7% of homes are today. French.

But so far, only some 25,000 renovations are undertaken each year.

The challenge of the recovery plan will therefore first be to make the current very complex system more understandable.

"We have a maquis of help, it's impossible to navigate if you are not knowledgeable", points out Etienne Charbit, head of "Energy Efficiency" projects at CLER, a network for energy transition.

"There is an imperative issue of simplification and support for the most precarious households to guarantee an out-of-pocket charge which tends towards zero."

Towards a comprehensive and efficient renovation

The specialist also believes that it is necessary to review the aid policy, today "particularly oriented towards a renovation 'by gesture'. We will change a boiler, or the windows, or insulate the attic separately" for lack of means, details Etienne Charbit.

“However, to meet government objectives, the entire renovation aid policy should be oriented towards comprehensive and efficient renovation: at least four renovation 'gestures' at the same time to be more efficient than what is currently being done. "

Danyel Dubreuil, from the Rénovons collective, encourages "people with the highest income, whether owners or landlords" to "look carefully" at the qualification of their accommodation.

According to his calculations, a total of 11 million French people live in a thermal strainer.

"We really have a very significant phenomenon."