France is going through a delicate period on several levels in this period marked by the debates on the 2025 budget and the possibility of voting on a motion of censure against the government of Michel Barnier. Announcements of factory closures, combined with government measures which affect several types of aid, worry the French. The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) confirms these fears in its indicator published this Wednesday, November 27.
According to this indicator summarizing French household confidence, the latter deteriorated again in November. It lost three points, dropping to 90. INSEE explains this decline in particular by increased fears about unemployment. In its report, the institute underlines that the indicator for the month of October was revised downward by one point, to 93. For this month of November, household fears about the outlook for unemployment are increasing. by 9 points. The balance of opinion reached 42, a level that has not been reached since May 2021.
Note that this month of November was marked by announcements of factory closures and bleak employment prospects. Even the Minister of Industry, Marc Ferracci, declared that there would be “ probably » other site closures in the coming weeks and months, with a social toll counting “in thousands of jobs ».
Household morale impacted by the economic situation
France's finances are also in the red. The public debt is growing and the deficit is enormous, which pushes the government to implement savings measures affecting all sectors. The situation means that households' opinion on their future financial situation has lost five points to -13. This opinion moves away from its long-term average (-7), calculated over the years 1987 to 2023. Concerning the balance relating to the recent financial situation of the French, it is almost stable (-1 point to -23).
The indicator also reveals that the opinion of the French on the advisability of currently making major purchases loses one point to -30. It thus moves away from its average which is -15. Households' opinions on the future standard of living have also received a good blow. It loses eight points to -51 and falls to the lowest since October 2023. Opinion on the recent standard of living, for its part, loses two points to -69. In both cases, the balances of opinion are well below their respective averages (-28 and -48). INSEE also indicates that household fears about the acceleration of prices in the next twelve months increased by 8 points to -41. However, these apprehensions are below the average, which is -31.
