the essential
The latest report from the Observatory of Inequalities reveals a striking concentration of poverty in Occitania. Thirteen of the twenty poorest priority neighborhoods in mainland France are located in the region.
The observation is striking. According to a report from the Observatory of Inequalities published on December 10, 2024, Occitanie concentrates a majority of the poorest priority neighborhoods (QPV) in mainland France. Thirteen of the twenty territories at the top of the ranking are located there, with poverty rates sometimes exceeding 70%.
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At the top of the list are three districts of Perpignan: “Bas-Vernet Former ZUS” et “Kings of Majorca”both with a record poverty rate of 75%, followed closely by “Champs De Mars district” still in Perpignan (73%), “Pissevin-Valdegour” in Nîmes (72%) and “Iranget Grangette” in Béziers (71%). In these areas, more than 7 out of 10 residents live on less than 1,200 euros per month, i.e. below the poverty line for a single person after taxes and social benefits.
Other neighborhoods located Carcassonne, Sète, bleach or even Castres complete this alarming observation.
The Observatory of Inequalities explains this situation by the central role of housing: “All these territories concentrate social housing whose primary role is to accommodate the most modest populations who cannot afford private housing. This largely explains the high level of poverty in these neighborhoods, which are often abandoned by households once their financial situation improves.
Young and under-educated populations
Occitanie is particularly affected due to the characteristics of the populations living in these QPV. These neighborhoods concentrate the categories most exposed to poverty, particularly young people. “Those under 25 represent almost 40% of the population in priority neighborhoods, a third more than the national average (29%),” notes the Observatory.
In areas like “Pissevin-Valdegour” in Nîmes, almost half of the inhabitants are under 25 years old, a profile which makes them more vulnerable to unemployment and professional instability.
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These neighborhoods are also home to a high proportion of single-parent families, a third of households on average, or three times more than in the rest of the country. For example, in neighborhoods “Cantepau” (Albi) and “Narbonne East”this proportion even exceeds 50%.
“The heights of poverty in France”
Another aggravating factor: the inhabitants of QPV are less qualified. On average, 44% of them have no diploma, compared to 25% nationally. HAS “Pontcarral” (Toulon), this rate reaches 70%.
Finally, a quarter of the population of these neighborhoods is foreign, three times the national average (8%). In certain districts of Occitanie such as those of Béziers or Perpignan, this figure exceeds 30%, even 50% in other regions such as in “Brittany Furrow” in Saint-Herblain (Loire-Atlantique).
“We are reaching the heights of poverty in France, with neighborhoods where almost the entire population is destitute,” concludes the Observatory of Inequalities. However, these areas should not be equated with “ghettos” or “lawless territories”. “It is the very purpose of these neighborhoods, within which the share of social housing is very large, to accommodate households who have the most difficulties, often with low levels of qualifications, to enable them to decent accommodation.”
