Poverty rate at highest in France for thirty years
Poverty is increasing in France. Between 2022 and 2023, the poverty rate rose from 14.4% to 15.4%, its highest level since 1996. This is shown by the INSEE's "Tax and Social Income" (ERFS) survey. As a result, 9.8 million people were living below the poverty line, set at €1,288 for a single person and €1,932 for a couple.
The poverty threshold is equivalent to 60% of the median standard of living, which statistically divides the population into two equal halves based on income, INSEE points out. However, median income increased by 0.9%, excluding inflation. This change is "mainly" explained by increases in the minimum wage and net job creation. It is also due to the rise in the standard of living of the wealthiest households, thanks to the performance of their financial income, as well as the revaluation of pensions under the Agirc-Arrco scheme.
This development has been "concomitant" with the decline in the standard of living of the most modest households in a context of high inflation, underlines the INSEE, for which this "is explained in particular by the growing proportion of households who declare low income from independent activity" , mainly micro-entrepreneurs. Added to this is the increase in the number of "part-time jobs with a proportion less than or equal to half-time".
This has particularly visible consequences within single-parent families, with more than one in three (34.3%) living below the poverty line, and therefore those under 18, of whom 21.9% are affected.
Please note that this study only includes people living in "ordinary housing in metropolitan France." If we take into account residents of overseas departments, the homeless, or those living in institutions, 11.2 million people were living in poverty in 2021.
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