Belle de Mai inflation: In the poorest district of France, "We count. We've always done it like this"
While inflation is hovering near the peaks, the inhabitants of the Belle de Mai and the 3rd arrondissement of Marseille, the poorest in France, remain stoic by continuing to count, which they have always done.
While inflation is hovering near the peaks, the inhabitants of the Belle de Mai and the 3rd arrondissement of Marseille, the poorest in France, remain stoic. Here, 46% of the population aged 16 to 65 is unemployed according to Insee. Almost 55% live below the poverty line, which is a little more than 2,000 euros per month for a family with two children under the age of fourteen. "We count and pay attention. We've always done it like this," explains Serge simply, for whom gas is not a debate; they don't have a car. "We take a little less in quantity, less meat too. But oil, flour ... there are products that you can't do without," observes Myriam, mother of a family of three children, the two youngest of whom are in kindergarten. "It's okay that there are not too many supplies at this age," she gasps in front of the Felix Pyat school exit.
Belle de Mai inflation
However, traders are seeing a decrease in their turnover, despite an increase in their price. "Chicken thighs, my cheapest product that I used to sell for 1.90 euros per kilo are now over 3.50. Never has the increase been so brutal," admits Farid, a butcher who has been living in the neighborhood for sixteen years. "People are taking less in quantity. Often 800 grams instead of a kilogram, 300 instead of 500 ... At the beginning of the month it's still fine, but at the end of the month it's really quiet," he notes in front of a customer trying to negotiate his basket from 10.40 euros to 10 euros all round. Mohamed, a nearby early bird farmer has trimmed his margins to keep his prices that defy all competition: 1 euro per kilogram of peaches, 1.50 that of tomatoes ... "People must eat well", says this boss. "And of course I give credit to customers a little more often at the end of the month".
It is difficult for someone who is not a regular in the neighborhood not to feel like they are saving money. Between the first-time buyers, wholesale / semi-wholesale retailers, obscure hard discount signs and bakery at bargain prices, it has been a long time since all the merchants in the neighborhood pulled the prices to the lowest and turned off the air conditioning of the shelves. The five baguettes of bread at 2.50 euros, the kilo of branded dough at 1.98 euros. "I still compare prices more often to see where it's the cheapest," says Lydia, tote bag in hand and makeup supported. "But I live alone, so it's okay," says the five-year-old. "Finally, they say it's going to stop in 2023," she hopes. A sign that inflation is still there, however, the traditional three large cheese pizzas have gone from ten to twelve euros in the neighborhood snacks, as noted by the sheets of paper taped with the new price on the printed menu in front.
Belle de Mai inflation associations
For their part, aid associations are not filling up. There are eighteen of them in this district of 50,000 inhabitants, working with the Food Bank for distributions. New fact: "We are increasingly mediating with landlords or energy suppliers to spread out the unpaid bills," notes Fathia, who accompanies 80 families in the neighborhood with her association. Winter, and the announced crisis on gas prices, especially when many homes are still equipped with old boilers, should not simplify his work.
Belle de Mai inflation facts
-The third arrondissement of Marseille is the poorest in France, with a poverty rate approaching 55% and a share of inactive at 46%.
- In the face of rising prices, the inhabitants seem to remain stoic, they who have always counted on a dime.
-The aid associations, which are particularly numerous in this district of 50,000 inhabitants, however, observe a surplus of activity and in particular at the level of mediations for unpaid bills.
Language Model Dialogue Applications
Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde