Food prices have risen by an average of 21% in two years, electricity prices by almost 70% over five years (taking into account the latest government announcement) and the price of a liter of diesel is now around 1.8 euros, compared with 1.4 euros in November 2018 when the “yellow vests” movement was triggered. These figures show the effects of the inflationary crisis that has been raging in the country since the end of the pandemic. But this price hike has only exacerbated an already long-standing tension weighing on the purchasing power of modest households and the lower middle class. Faced with the risk of “smicardization” and increasingly difficult month-ends, many French people have reactivated traditional networks of solidarity and mutual aid: one in five people (one in two in the underprivileged categories, one in four in the modest categories) say they are now regularly helped by relatives. But more generally, many of our fellow citizens are resorting to every possible expedient to preserve their purchasing power and stay afloat, behaviors that fall within the scope of what we call the “makeshift economy”.
This note looks at various aspects and manifestations of the “resource-poor economy”, aims to quantify its scale, and also examines its deeper sociological significance.
The results are also available here: https: //www.jean-jaures.org/publication/la-vitalite-de-leconomie-de-debrouille-symptome-du-desarrimage-des-categories-populaires-et-en-mineur-des-aspirations-a-une-alter-consommation/
