Poverty and inequality in France at 30-year high

The poverty rate in France rose to 15.4 percent, the highest level since 1996. The income gap between the richest and poorest also widened by 20 percent, approaching a level last seen in the 1970s.

For almost 30 years, the French statistics bureau, INSEE, has been measuring levels of poverty and inequality among the country's residents every year, making visible the plight of economically vulnerable segments of society and assessing the impact of social policies.

According to INSEE's July 7 report, indicators reached "unprecedented" levels in 2023. Accordingly, approximately 9.8 million people in France, with a population of approximately 69 million, earn below the poverty line of 1,288 euros (60,536 lira) per month per person.

Moreover, almost 650,000 people will fall into poverty by 2024, an increase not seen since 1996, when calculations began.

The poverty rate in France rose from 14.4 percent in 2022 to 15.4 percent, an unprecedented increase.

Of course, inequality has also hit a record high : The income of the richest 20 percent is four and a half times that of the poorest 20 percent. Furthermore, the Gini coefficient, an indicator measuring inequality, is close to its 2011 high.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) calculated the poverty rate in Turkey as 21.2 percent in 2024.

"You only see a bit more inequality in the early 1970s ," Michel Duée, a researcher at INSEE, told the French newspaper Le Monde. "Living standards rose faster than inflation because the job market was strong, but the lowest-income earners didn't get a share of that increase. "

In fact, the average standard of living increased by 5.9 percent, reaching €2,150 per month for a single person. Of course, with average annual inflation at 4.9 percent, this represents a 0.9 percent increase. But income was not distributed equally.

Duée said the living standards of the richest 10% had increased by 2.1% in real terms, thanks to "returns from financial products." Meanwhile, the living standards of the poorest 30% of the population had fallen.

“The urgency threshold has been crossed,” said sociologist Nicolas Duvoux, adding: “Poverty is not stabilizing at a high level; on the contrary, it is showing a tendency to increase. ”

Oxfam International, a group established to combat poverty, announced earlier this year that the number of poor people in the world has remained virtually unchanged for a quarter of a century.

The World Bank also reported last year that progress in reducing global poverty has nearly stalled and that even ending poverty for half the population could take more than 100 years.