Poverty in France - statistics & facts
In July 2017 right after being elected as French President Emmanuel Macron declared that homelessness was one of his priorities for the year ahead. Seven years later, Emmanuel Macron is still president however, the number of people living on the streets consistently increased since his first election in 2017 and reached 330,000 in 2023.
Not only has the number of homeless people grown in the past years, but in general, a larger part of the French population was affected by poverty as social inequalities have also grown. Indeed, in 2022, when more than 9.1 million people were considered to be living below the poverty line, the fortune of the first four French billionaires (Bernard Arnault, François Bettencourt Meyers, Gérard Wertheimer, and Alain Wertheimer) increased by 87 percent since the COVID-19 crisis, according to a report published by the NGO Oxfam France, early 2024.
When purchasing food became a privilege, people frequently turned to a food bank, the main one in France being Les Restos du Coeur, which was always able to provide people with basic food needs. However, just before winter 2023, the charity founded in 1985, voiced concerns about a lack of funding. Indeed, inflation impacted the number of beneficiaries which constantly increased in recent years, and consequently, the charity was unsure if they would be able to continue to provide enough meals for all beneficiaries.
Work remained the first source of income, and unemployed people in France are therefore more at risk of poverty than employed people. Indeed, in 2021, among the five million job seekers, only 2.6 million received benefits from unemployment insurance, leaving the rest with possibly little, or even no income.
Finally, poverty particularly affected single-parent families and by extension, single women with children, since in most of the cases of heterosexual couples separating, the mother was the one to get custody of her children. Single-parent families were also more at risk of material and social deprivation, indeed, in 2022 nearly one out of three single-parent families were facing that situation.
Not only has the number of homeless people grown in the past years, but in general, a larger part of the French population was affected by poverty as social inequalities have also grown. Indeed, in 2022, when more than 9.1 million people were considered to be living below the poverty line, the fortune of the first four French billionaires (Bernard Arnault, François Bettencourt Meyers, Gérard Wertheimer, and Alain Wertheimer) increased by 87 percent since the COVID-19 crisis, according to a report published by the NGO Oxfam France, early 2024.
Food poverty
Poverty is not only characterized by the poverty rate, which indicates a defined population's lack of money but can be determined by different criteria, food insecurity being one of them. Indeed, poor households, or households at risk of poverty, sometimes had to modify their consumer behavior when buying food items. For instance, according to a survey conducted in March 2024, approximately one French respondent out of five declared they often had given up on buying some specific food products due to lack of money, and 13 percent of them confessed they frequently had to skip a meal.When purchasing food became a privilege, people frequently turned to a food bank, the main one in France being Les Restos du Coeur, which was always able to provide people with basic food needs. However, just before winter 2023, the charity founded in 1985, voiced concerns about a lack of funding. Indeed, inflation impacted the number of beneficiaries which constantly increased in recent years, and consequently, the charity was unsure if they would be able to continue to provide enough meals for all beneficiaries.
People affected by poverty
Certain segments of the French population appeared more at risk of poverty than others. For instance, even though foreigners represented a minority within the country, they were highly represented in shelters, where more than 80 percent of the people living there were non-French citizens. Furthermore, it appeared that most of the people living in shelters, not only were unemployed but did not have legal authorization to work in French territory, which contributed to both their situation of poverty and their social isolation.Work remained the first source of income, and unemployed people in France are therefore more at risk of poverty than employed people. Indeed, in 2021, among the five million job seekers, only 2.6 million received benefits from unemployment insurance, leaving the rest with possibly little, or even no income.
Finally, poverty particularly affected single-parent families and by extension, single women with children, since in most of the cases of heterosexual couples separating, the mother was the one to get custody of her children. Single-parent families were also more at risk of material and social deprivation, indeed, in 2022 nearly one out of three single-parent families were facing that situation.
