The Solidarity Pact, which aims to fight against poverty, will be published in mid-March, Solidarity Minister Jean-Christophe Combe announced on Thursday.
His signature, initially announced for the end of January, has been postponed at the request of local authorities, to deepen consultation with associations of elected officials, he told the press.
The government is leading a consultation to develop this new policy, which will follow on from the Poverty Strategy launched in 2018.
This consultation focuses on four areas: prevention from childhood, getting out of poverty through work, major exclusion and the impact of the ecological transition on the most disadvantaged. It will be extended to the stigmatization of people living in poverty, announced Mr. Combe.
Associations, trade unions and poor people notably mentioned the impact of inflation during a session of the National Council for Policies to Combat Poverty and Exclusion (CNLE) in Paris.
Inflation, 7% over 12 months in France, has a particular impact on poor households: it is higher for food products (+12% and even +20 to 30% for bread, pasta, oils) and energy , constrained expenditure, noted Mr. Combe, who wants to improve statistical tools to better understand this impact.
Noam Landri, president of the Collectif Alerte, which brings together 34 associations fighting against poverty, regretted that the government (is) caught up in the retirement file. The pension reform is for 10 years from now. The fight against poverty is for people who struggle right away.
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The pension reform creates new rights, in particular a minimum pension of 1,200 euros. It is about balancing the pension system so that tomorrow’s pensioners are not the new poor of this country, replied Mr Combe.
Poverty affects nearly 15% of the population, according to INSEE, which defines the poverty line as a standard of living below 60% of the median standard of living of the French population.
Foreigners, single-parent families and young people are the three categories most affected by poverty, according to Noam Leandri, who hopes for very favorable measures for foreigners in the immigration bill.