“You don’t have to be difficult, what”, Christophe Moreno minimizes straight away, passing the door of his house, on the outskirts of the village of Josselin (Morbihan). The forties agreed to testify on his daily life, on the occasion of the day against energy poverty, organized this Wednesday, November 10 by an associative collective, everywhere in France. “It’s difficult, anyway”, he admits.
A life in nine square meters
Christophe bought his house, his first house, in May 2017, for a few tens of thousands of euros. Without professional activity, living on his disabled adult allowance (AAH), he obtains his loan for the purchase, but also counts on obtaining a second loan, because it is urgent to renovate the premises from top to bottom. Problem: he gets the first, but not the second. There begins a real descent into hell. “The first year, I lived in my trailer. The second year, in and out”, he sums up.
– Sarah mansoura
Because the house, “raw apple”, according to his expression, is rustic to say the least. No insulation, no VMC. Simple glazing, a few leaks, water infiltration. “I bought the house because I needed a roof. I wanted to take my time with the work, but I didn’t realize it was going to be that difficult. had lead paint, asbestos, all that, but hey … I needed a roof. “ Impossible for him to commit such large sums, which are counted in tens of thousands of euros : Christophe Moreno therefore resolves to live in this unsanitary accommodation, a veritable energy strainer, confined to a small room.
– Sarah mansoura
Nine square meters. A room, where he concentrates all his life, or at least the maximum. “The sofa, the TV, the computer there”, he points out, “and an oil radiator”. A single radiator, to heat the single living room. “The rest is moldy. The smells, everywhere, it takes everything, it affects everything. I ended up going through the window.” Not to mention the electricity bill which soars, and which, by hundreds of euros accumulated over the months, ends up representing a debt of around 1,900 euros.
“Don’t want to wake up”
“I lost a lot of things. The clothes, the mattress, the fridge … My computer, the microwave, too. When you plugged in two electrical devices at the same time, it blew everything up”, he recalls. The unhappy owner tried to take the necessary steps to find the money necessary for the work, “but while waiting for the files to progress, we had to sleep there. Otherwise, it was outside”, he sums up. In the meantime, the walls continued to be loaded with mold.
– Sarah mansoura
Today, thanks to funds released through the support of the Abbé Pierre Foundation, also thanks to the mobilization of his social worker, elected officials and the department, Christophe Moreno was finally able to start the work. It remains nevertheless marked by long months of suffering. “The only life is sleeping. Sleeping, and not wanting to wake up”, he launches his eyes vague. “All the money goes through the air. It’s like a cigarette going up in smoke.”