A staggering 40% of the population in France's overseas territories lives in poverty, according to an article titled "In France, the pace of poverty reduction has stalled for 20 years and continues to increase" published in the French newspaper Le Monde.
According to Report, the article, authored by Christian Babusiaux, Bernadette Malqorn, and Emmanuel Millard, members of the think tank "Association for State Reforms", reveals that 9 million people in continental France are poor, accounting for 14.4% of the country's population. However, when overseas territories are included, the number reaches 10 million.
France's overseas territories have a population of approximately 2.6 million, which means that nearly 40% of these regions are plagued by poverty. The article notes that this dire situation persists despite an annual allocation of around 51 billion euros to combat poverty and the efforts of hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the country.
The article emphasizes that the pace of poverty reduction in France stalled 20 years ago, and the poverty level has been increasing since 2004. "This information is corroborated by a report published by France's National Institute of Economic Sciences and Statistics in July 2024," the article reads.
The publication notes that the root cause of this persistent problem is attributed to the lack of a global approach in France's fight against poverty. The article stresses the necessity for state and public institutions to implement more effective measures to combat poverty and improve social policy.
"It is necessary to improve the effectiveness and management of public action. In each department, there are at least 30 plans and schemes covering different areas of the fight against poverty. These plans are designed either for specific social groups or for specific topics. In particular, while the responsibilities for support allowances have been transferred to the departments, the state's financial compensation has remained virtually unchanged since 2008," the article states.