While insecurity affects more and more families and children in Francetwo major initiatives converge, this Tuesday, November 19, to highlight the social emergency among the youngest in the country.
Les Restos du Cœur, which is launching its 40th food distribution campaign today, are particularly targeting this year the most vulnerable groups, namely children under the age of three and single-parent families.. While Unicef warns of the deprivations and violence suffered by young people, in a recent worrying report.
Founded in 1985 by Coluche, the Restos du Cœur are starting a new campaign this year placed under the sign of reinforced commitment for the most deprived. Patrice Douret, president of the association, indeed affirmed the objective of “prioritize the most vulnerable groups, in particular single-parent families and children under three years old”. A choice dictated by the increase in these profiles among the beneficiaries, with a quarter of those registered coming from single-parent homes.
In Gennevilliers in the Paris region, Patrice Douret welcomed Prime Minister Michel Barnier and the Minister of Solidarity Paul Christophe. Despite a return to financial balance with a surplus of 22 million euros for the 2023-2024 campaignthe association remains on its guard. “We remain extremely reasonable and cautious about what we commit to, because we are not immune to a new crisis”he stressed.
Last September, the Restos du Cœur had sounded the alarm in the face of a critical financial situationamplified by the increase in logistics and food costs. Inflation had forced the association to double its food purchasing budget, reaching 110 million euros.
The mobilization of the French was then spectacular, with 32 million euros raised, including 10 million contributed by Bernard Arnault's family and 8 million by the Statewhich already contributes 15% to the association's budget.
This momentum made it possible to maintain aid 1.3 million beneficiaries and distribute 163 million meals.
Cry of alarm from Unicef
At the same time, a report published this Tuesday, November 19 by Unicef reveals an alarming situation for children in France, particularly in terms of nutrition.
According to a consultation carried out with 20,000 young people, 22.8% of children eat less than three meals per dayet 11.9% only consume protein once a week or less. Fruits and vegetables are just as rare for 11% of them.
In addition to material deprivations, physical and verbal violence is said to be omnipresent in families. “More than one in four children have suffered physical violence from other children or adolescents (30%)”while 13.1% were victims of adults.
The results also reveal that 30.6% of young people over the age of 13 have already considered suicide. “These deprivations, often cumulative, generate a profound feeling of exclusion”underlines Unicef, which urges the government to act “urgently to protect the rights of children and guarantee their development in a fairer society.”.
Faced with these findings, the organization announced the creation of a Child Rights Observatorya digital platform to centralize reliable statistics and guide more effective public policies.
This initiative, coupled with the efforts of Restos du Cœur, demonstrates a double imperative: act in the short term to meet vital needs and work in the long term to sustainably reduce inequalities.
Precariousness hits more than 9 million people living below the poverty line in France (or 14.4% of the population).
