E/C.12/FRA/CO/4 Poverty 31. The Committee is concerned at the incidence of poverty among certain disadvantaged and marginalized groups. 32. The Committee urges the State party to assess the impact of the multi-year plan for poverty reduction and social inclusion, not only in terms of the plan’s objectives but also of the effects on disadvantaged groups, such as single-parent families, the long-term unemployed, asylum seekers and households living in priority urban zones. Poverty in the overseas departments and regions and overseas communities 33. The Committee notes with concern the high unemployment and poverty rates in the overseas departments and regions and overseas communities, including Réunion, French Guiana and Mayotte. In view of the fact that circumstances in the overseas territories differ from those in metropolitan France, the Committee considers that the targeted mechanisms, such as the negotiated price capping scheme known as the bouclier qualité-prix and the measures for driving growth and employment in the overseas departments and regions and overseas communities, are insufficient and fragmentary and are not soundly based on a human rights approach (arts. 7 and 11). 34. Drawing the State party’s attention to the statement on poverty and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/2001/10), the Committee recommends that the State party take a rights-based approach to the formulation of policies for reducing poverty in the overseas departments and regions and overseas communities and urges it to: (a) Combat extreme poverty, in particular in Mayotte, as a matter of priority and ensure that persons living in extreme poverty have access to social benefits; and (b) Allocate budgetary resources for the implementation of the multi-year plan for poverty reduction and social inclusion in the overseas territories which are in proportion to the prevailing inequalities and establish a timetable for closing existing gaps in the enjoyment of the right to an adequate standard of living. The right to housing 35. The Committee is deeply concerned by the fact that the State party is underinvesting in the implementation of its policies for realizing the right to adequate housing. It remains concerned about housing shortages, including shortages of social housing, affordable housing and emergency shelters, in the State party. It notes with concern that many people still have no fixed abode and that, as a result, new informal settlements are appearing. The Committee finds it equally worrisome that over 40 per cent of requests for emergency shelters have gone unanswered and that, in 80 per cent of the cases in which shelter was provided, it was made available for just one night. 36. The Committee notes that the housing construction projects provided for under the multi-year plan for poverty reduction and social inclusion are not sufficient to meet the demand for permanent accommodation. It wishes to draw the State party’s attention to the adverse consequences that a denial of the right to housing has on the exercise of other rights, such as the right to social security and the right to work (art. 11). 37. The Committee wishes to draw the State party’s attention to its general comment No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing and urges the State party to: (a) Undertake investments, on the basis of geographical priorities, that are proportional in size to the scale of the housing shortage; GE.16-12027 7