In addition to the political uncertainties which do not help matters, the French ended the year 2024 with low morale. According to INSEE, French household confidence deteriorated further in December. The indicator which summarizes it has lost one point compared to the month of November. Technically, he went from 90 to 89.
This new deterioration is explained in particular by fears of a deterioration in the standard of living, an increase in unemployment or more sustained inflation, notes the National Institute of Statistics.
However, the opinion of households regarding their own financial situation is marked by stability as is the proportion who consider it appropriate to make major purchases. In the longer term, however, they are more pessimistic, believing that their financial situation will deteriorate.
While the month of November was marked by the announcement of site closures at Michelin and ArcelorMittal and the declarations of the former Minister of Industry Marc Ferracci, predicting that there would “probably” be other closures of sites in the coming weeks and months, with a social balance sheet numbering “in thousands of jobs”, households’ fears in the face of increasing unemployment are sharply increasing: + 10 points to 53, after having already won 9 in November reaching its highest level since May 2021.
Household opinion on the standard of living is also “declining and losing four points, below its long-term average”, also underlines INSEE. The French fear further price increases during 2025.
In these uncertain conditions, households that have the capacity to do so trust in their current and future savings capacity to protect themselves. Even if the share of households considering that it is “advisable to save is decreasing”, “it remains well above its long-term average”, according to INSEE.
According to the French Banking Federation, savings are still abundant in France. After reaching a peak in the 2nd quarter of 2020 (26.1%), due to drops in consumption during confinements, the household savings rate was 17.6% in the 2nd quarter of 2024. For comparison, the France is one of the countries in the euro zone where the savings rate is one of the highest: 13.1% in Spain, 12.9% in Italy.
