They are today two million seniors living in a situation of economic precariousness. Anne Janel, regional director of the Petits Frères des Pauvres for the Mediterranean region, recalls that today “the minimum old age is 1,012 euros for a single person, 1,371 euros for a couple, those who have worked and who receive a pension of 600 euros do not request the minimum old age, do not have access to these rights“For her, the solution is simple, it would be necessary to “bring this minimum old age to the minimum poverty threshold”, i.e. 1,216 euros.
“We cannot sacrifice this segment of the population”
For Anne Janel, who calls for an increase in purchasing power, it is above all “particularly difficult” to grow old in Marseille: “Today 14.2% of those over 75 live there with less than 1,000 euros“, she explains. “There are neighborhoods that are more impoverished than others, and the city center is really impactednotably by the arrivals of foreign populations in the 1970s: the children have left, the spouses have died, those who remain are alone in their apartment”.
After the study published by the organization this Monday, she explains: “We thought we would find more isolated single people in rural areas, but we realized that in large cities, elderly people are alone and isolated.“. Et most are single women and with reduced mobilityfor example on high floors where the elevators no longer work. “They are in prisons”estimates Anne Janel, “and half of them are unaware that they can benefit from aid. Or some don’t want to ask for help. We see elderly people who do not see or speak to anyone all day, or even all week. The association is sometimes their only link with the outside world“.
The association helping the most vulnerable points out that it is always looking for volunteers, who generally work in pairs in the field: “You need two people for an isolated person, because we provide long-term support.”
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