This year too French Caritas has published a statistical report on poverty in France. It handed over the document to Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin on Tueday, 16 November, during his visit to the Centre for hospitality and social insertion (CHRS) created and run by Caritas in the Cité Notre Dame in Paris. The report was recognized by the national watchdog on poverty and social exclusion as “a real contribution to knowledge of situations of insecurity, marginality and exclusion in France”. From the data in the report it emerges that poverty was not reduced in 2003. On the contrary it was aggravated, taking on new forms. The analysis region by region that accompanies the general report confirms this. Last year, Caritas agencies in France provided assistance to 1.6 million people in situations of precariousness, equivalent to 2.5% of the French population. 13% of them had no resources, 42% were living on social security benefits, and 80% were below the poverty threshold. The report presents interesting new data on the causes of the new forms of poverty: first of all, job insecurity or employment on short-term or part-time contracts, seasonal work, and work on low wages. Neither active nor unemployed, these precarious workers have given the title to this year’s Caritas report: “France précaire”.
