C’is one of the paradoxes of which Corsica has the secret. If the island is the most precarious region of mainland France with 18% of its population living below the poverty line, its inhabitants are also those who seek the least social assistance schemes to which they are entitled. Active solidarity income, specific solidarity allowance, housing aid… With the notable exception of the minimum old age, the social minima are, in Corsica, the least consumed in France.
This is what emerges from an analysis carried out by the economist Guillaume Guidoni, director of the consulting firm in economic analysis Gecodia and founder of the Corsica-Economy site. With one clear observation: the net social expenditure of the public authorities is established, on the island, at 498 euros per inhabitant and per year, against 569 euros for the national average. “The statistics are counter-intuitive with regard to the figures that one would expect for such a poor region, observes Guillaume Guidoni. This is, for example, the case for the RSA, since Corsica has barely 3% of recipients while territories with a high but lower level of poverty, such as Hauts-de-France, register more than 6 % of beneficiaries. »
“The weight of the gaze of the other”
Several factors could explain this situation. In particular administrative, material or psychological barriers, in an island micro-society of 340,000 inhabitants where close relationships can lead households to hide their social condition. “The weight of the gaze of the other counts a lot, especially since these files can be investigated by officials that the beneficiaries are likely to know, considers the director of a social action center in Haute-Corse. This is often the source of a feeling of shame. »
A commission from the assembly of Corsica also looked into the matter. His conclusions, that Point was able to consult, highlight a lack of knowledge of the offer, the difficulty in identifying the public and a renunciation due to the administrative complexity or the remoteness of public services in rural areas. To fight against this “under-use” of aid, this body has made proposals to the Corsican executive: creation of a single window for aid, deployment of means to reach out to the populations… “It is important to build a strategy to reach these audiences and help them access these rights, says Jean-Martin Mondoloni, territorial adviser (DVD), at the origin of this report. It would also be useful to consider taking this phenomenon into account in the law. But there is no doubt that the public authorities have no interest in this, given the funds that the current situation allows them, ultimately, to save. »
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