France counts “1.4 million more poor people” compared to 20 years ago, according to the fourth report on poverty in France published this Tuesday by the Observatory of Inequalities. “For a single person, the poverty threshold is 1,000 euros per month. For a couple without children, this represents 1,500 euros. And for a family with two children over 14 years old, 2,500 euros”specifies the independent body, according to the criteria retained by the independent body. 5.1 million people live below this threshold in France, or 8.1% of the population, compared to 6.6% in 2002 (+1.5 points), according to data from INSEE.
“Poverty is not exploding but it is gaining ground”writes the Observatory of Inequalities which notes that “the figures had reached a low point in 2002”. In France, “extreme poverty persists”notes this same source. To support its point, the Observatory cites a report from the Abbé Pierre Foundation from January 2024 according to which “330,000 people have no home and live on the streets, in social hotels or in accommodation centers” and this “despite the doubling of their capacities in a few years”.
Children and young people aged 18 to 29 “are significantly more affected than other age groups, with 11.4% and 10% poor respectively”. The first “suffer the poverty of their parents”the latter encounter insertion difficulties, “especially the less qualified”. The elderly are “significantly less concerned with poverty rates remaining below 5%”.
Furthermore, single people are twice as affected as couples: “12.8% of single people under 65 – and even 19.2% of single-parent families – are poor, compared to 5.6% of couples.” Unsurprisingly, “employment makes the difference”. Nearly a quarter (24.5%) of the unemployed and 22.1% of non-retired inactive people live below the poverty line (INSEE). “In comparison, only 2.9% of employees are poor, as are 12.5% of self-employed people.” However, the Observatory of Inequalities emphasizes that “working does not completely protect” since “1.1 million workers have a standard of living below the poverty line, a proportion which has remained fairly stable for 20 years, around 4% of people in employment”. 81% of the poor have not gone beyond the baccalaureate.
Immigrants are over-represented among poor people. THE “poverty rate reaches 18.8% and even 23.6% for North Africans: a rate three times higher than that of people born in France”notes the report. Immigrants “often combine the difficulties of low-skilled people, discrimination in hiring and the ban on non-European foreigners from doing a large number of jobs in France”. More than 20% of people with disabilities are poor compared to 13% for able-bodied people. The Observatory of Inequalities also highlights that the poverty rate is higher in Overseas Territories and priority neighborhoods.
The report notes that the French social model “cushioned recent crises”. Nevertheless, “for a whole part of the population, labor income is declining, despite the drop in unemployment”. France “does better than the European average”affirms the Observatory of Inequalities based on data from Eurostat for 2021. That year, the Czech Republic had “the lowest rate” of the European Union (5.4% of the population below the poverty line). “Among the most populous European countries, France and Germany (with its poverty rate of 8.5%)” have done “better than their neighbors, Italy (13%) and Spain (13.7%)”.
Methodology:
The inequality observatory is based in particular on figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) published in October 2024 for the year 2022 (latest year available).
The poverty line is “calculated in proportion to the median standard of living, that which divides the population in two: half earn more and the other half less, after taxes and social benefits”explains the organization which favors the 50% threshold “as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development does” (OECD) or Eurostat. However, “the most often used poverty line is located at 60% of the median standard of living”. For example, INSEE bases itself on this threshold of 60% “fixed by convention”. The statistical institute details: “It corresponds to a disposable income of 1,216 euros per month for a person living alone and 2,554 euros for a couple with two children aged under 14.”
corresponds to a disposable income of 1,216 euros per month for a person living alone and 2,554 euros for a couple with two children aged under 14.
Among the Observatory's sources, a 2024 report from the Abbé Pierre Foundation, data from Eurostat for the year 2021.
