To get out of over-indebtedness, many French people turn to associations

For 35 years, associations have been helping over-indebted French people manage their budget.

The French are slightly more likely to be affected by over-indebtedness. In the first half of 2024, the number of cases filed with the Banque de France increased by 14% compared to the same period last year, according to the institution’s figures, without however reaching the pre-Covid level.

We are talking about a little over 10,000 requests per month and people who are often financially fragile and who sometimes come to seek help from Crésus, an associative federation which helps them to get out of over-indebtedness.

Nicole is a retired woman in debt. By helping her nephew financially, her savings have melted away, she has taken out four consumer loans and can no longer cope. “It is complicated to read this file,” comments Régine Montfront, one of the association’s volunteers.Yes, I didn’t understand everything…”, recognizes Nicole.

Régine Montfront allowed him to file an over-indebtedness file with the Bank of France: “[Le dossier] is admissible. That’s good news. You’ll have a plan where you’ll have to repay 256 euros per month. That replaces all the credits you were repaying until then. So you’ll go from 1,064 euros per month to 256. It’ll get better.“, she reassures.

Unless one of its creditors files an appeal. This is happening more and more often, as in one in five cases currently, estimates Régine Montfront: “I wonder if they are not shooting at random, saying to themselves, ‘Hey, we’re going to appeal,’ a bit to scare people.”

“You realize: in court! Me who has always paid the fines…”, Nicole worries. The retiree is well on her way to getting back on her feet. “Thank you for your good advice”Nicole smiled. But the profiles are varied and one can very well be over-indebted without ever having taken out a loan, explains Régine Montfront: “You just have to not pay your rent. You just have to be late with EDF, the children’s canteen… We also have a lot of debts in hospitals. That’s why when we say ‘People got into debt’. No, in most cases, it’s passive over-indebtedness. That is to say, they haven’t managed to pay their bills.”

Asking for this support, however, is not so simple. Ludivine, who is coming for the first time, took several years to make an appointment: “I have not been able to manage my finances on my own since I got divorced. That was my fear and thank God I can live decently but I am living beyond my means. I have no credit, but I have been overdrawn for over ten years. It is really a big SOS, a message in a bottle for me.”

Women are the majority in submitting applications and presenting themselves at this office, notes the volunteer, for three main reasons: “Women are more likely to agree to ask for help. There is also the recurring problem of single-parent families… And then, on the financial institutions’ side, when there are joint debtors for a loan, the instruction is to address the woman! A woman responds, she does everything she can to repay. A man may not respond…”

France is a pioneer in this area: this type of support has existed for 35 years in the face of over-indebtedness.