One in six lives in poverty
Report calls on presidential candidates to pledge changes that will help 11.2 million people
ONE IN six people in France is living in poverty says a new report that is calling on the presidential candidates to make improvements a campaign promise.
Poverty and social exclusion watchdog, Opnes, said the number of poor people in France has increased to 11.2 million.
Nearly two million people in France live on less than €640 per month (40% of the average wage), a number that has been "on the increase since 2005," rising from 2.7% of the population in 2000 to 2.5% in 2004 and 3.2% in 2005.
In addition, more than eight million live on less than €954 per month (60% of the average wage)
France managed to resist the worst of the 2008-2009 recession period but its consequences were "heavy, multiple and staggered over time," says the watchdog.
The latest figures available [from 2009] show more than 11 million people were affected by at least one of the European Commission's three different criteria of poverty: lack of money, lack of possessions or lack of work. However, 700,000 were affected by all three.
Opnes says "extreme poverty" is growing "slowly and gradually", especially amongst vulnerable single-parent families (almost 30% of which are poor), young people (22.5%) or elderly women (15%).
