The small pensions of France,Stephan.

Stephan, 73 years old, started working at the age of 15 as an apprentice hairdresser for ladies, went to the army, then worked in game rooms for several years; around the age of 40 he set up as a hairdresser in Paris. At 73 years old, he lives alone in the 11 m² basement of his hairdressing salon and, despite the pension he receives since 2009, has never been able to stop working. If I don't keep working to supplement my pension, I can't pay my rent. I have the business but not the salon walls and in Paris, rent is not cheap. Working allows me to pay the charges. And my 900 euro pension allows me to pay the rest, to live. As long as I can stand up, I'll continue," he says. He has thought about solutions, such as asking for social housing, but he has "not even tried" because he has "seen with some clients: it's an obstacle course to get one. The only thing I expect is that they will let everything increase," he says, noting that what he buys at the supermarket is becoming more and more expensive. It's easy: I always buy the same thing," he explains. Before, it cost me 40-50€ when I was shopping, now it's more like 70€, and yet I don't buy caviar!" he says.......