More than one in two French people identify as belonging to the middle class, according to a study

In detail, 34% identify with the lower middle class and 21% with the upper middle class, according to the opinion barometer of the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees) carried out in 2023 in mainland France. Barely 7% of French people surveyed identify with the wealthy categories, 8% with the very modest and 30% with the modest categories.

Income in mind

For comparison, the usual approach – and not self-declaration – based on income generally shows 10% of French people are very modest, 20% modest, 30% belonging to the lower middle class, 20% to the upper middle class and 20% of wealthy categories, according to the study.

Income and socio-professional category are among the main factors influencing identification with a social class, as are the level of diploma, the type of income received (social minimum, income from financial assets or rental, etc.) and the housing occupancy status, notes Drees.

Thus the fact of having a higher education degree “significantly increases the probability of self-positioning in a higher social category”. Conversely, continues Drees, receiving social income or being a tenant reduces the probability of declaring oneself in a higher social category.

Dichotomy

Furthermore, the higher the perception of their social position, the more the respondents take an optimistic view of their own situation, the future or society. French people who “self-position” themselves in the upper middle class thus judge their situation rather or much better than those in the lower middle class (57% versus 40%). In the same way, they more frequently say they are somewhat or very optimistic about their own future (59% versus 48%) or that of their children or future generations (42% versus 33%).