An international study published on Monday by France’s largest food aid charity, Restos du Cœur, shows the number of people living in extreme poverty in France and other wealthy countries increased by 37 percent between 2018 and 2025.

The analysis, carried out by an international team in Europe and the United States, found that 5.5 million of the charity’s beneficiaries have fallen into extremely precarious situations.

It warns that one in 10 people risks needing food aid over the next decade.

It also found that public policies have little effect in helping people who have already fallen into extreme poverty.

“The longer someone has been receiving assistance from Les Restos, the harder it is for them to break free from that situation,” Yves Mérillon, a member of the national board of Les Restos du Cœur, told public broadcaster Franceinfo.

He believes that “prevention remains the most powerful tool, and public policies have a role to play” through more targeted measures.

On the tables at a Restos du Cœur branch in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, there are tins of food, packets of pasta and biscuits. In the next room, there are fresh fruit and vegetables. This is also where yoghurts and other chilled dairy products are available.

In her shopping trolley, Mariam tells RFI she has collected “some milk. I’ve also got some prawns. I’ve got potatoes. Pasta. I’ve got fruit. Peaches. And a packet of madeleines for my children’s snacks”.

For her, this is a matter of survival. “We’re struggling. Thank goodness the Restos du Cœur help us a lot.”

Like many of the women who come here, Mariam is a single mum who is undocumented. What upsets her most is not being able to make her seven-year-old daughter happy.

“Sometimes she finds €0.02 or €0.01 and says to me: ‘Mum, we’ve got loads of money, why don’t we go to a restaurant?’ I tell her no, that’s not enough money to go to a restaurant – you need at least €10.”

For Jacques Bagge, who has been volunteering for six years at this branch, his view of extreme poverty is “people who are unable to meet their basic needs for food and housing”.

“In other words, most of the people we see here and to whom we distribute food are staying in emergency accommodation centres, social housing or even on the streets,” he explains. “We’re in Paris, where housing conditions are difficult because rents are very high.”

The study by Restos du Cœur reveals that difficulties in securing accommodation have soared by 62 per cent between 2018 and 2025. One in every 200 people in France is homeless, living on the streets or without their own home.

“Inflation is responsible for 52 percent of the rise in homelessness since 2018,” it notes.

Students as well as families are affected.

“There are many students who, in order to be able to pay for their room or accommodation – sometimes in a shared flat, or a flat shared by several people – are forced to rely on outside help to feed themselves,” says Bagge.

Patrice, a 25-year-old student with multiple degrees, lives in a shared flat on a very low income.

“I’d say I’m on less than €600 [per month]. Once the rent’s paid, I’m left with less than €200 a month. The food aid we’re given here really helps; it takes the pressure off. And on top of that, I’ve just finished my studies, so I’m looking for a job and it’s awful. You get up in the morning, send out loads of applications and nothing – no replies at all.”

But there are also the working poor. Sam, 30, cannot get by without food aid.

“I’ve been coming here for a few years now, so it’s become a bit like going to the shops,” he says.

Among those most at risk of poverty, children aged up to nine years old account for nearly 25 percent of people experiencing housing insecurity. The majority come from single-parent families headed by single mothers.

In 2024-2025, one in two people receiving aid at the Restos du coeur was under 25, and 23 percent of the families receiving aid were single-parent households.

Francine Rivaud, a volunteer, confirms what the study shows: it is very difficult to escape extreme poverty.

“Firstly, because it’s generally women we see here who are unable to work. They don’t have the right papers, but they have children, and those children go to school. It’s absolutely essential that we help these children so that the next generation doesn’t end up in this poverty,” she warns.

It’s midday and the soup kitchen is about to close. Amira has come with her little boy. She says it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t always get enough to eat – what matters to her is that her child is never denied a meal.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by Laurence Théault.