Wealth inequality in France - statistics and facts
In France, wage inequalities have significantly decreased in the past decades. However, since the late 1990s, wealth inequalities seemed to be increasing again. But how much inequality would still be considered acceptable for the population? According to a survey conducted in March 2023, most French respondents believed the ratio between the monthly salary of the poorest and the richest person should not exceed 10. This meant that if the poorest person earned the gross minimum wage, e.g. 1,767 euros, the salary of the richest person should not exceed 17,670 euros. Yet, the reality of wealth inequalities in the country was quite different; according to the magazine Forbes in 2024, Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH and the third richest man in the world, tripled his fortune in the past four years. In 2024, the richest woman in the world was also French, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, CEO of L’Oréal.
Moreover, households’ assets were also interrelated to wealth inequalities. In 2021, the poorest 10 percent of the French population owned on average net assets worth 3,000 euros maximum while the wealth of the richest 10 percent was worth at least 633,200 euros. Finally, inheritance logically contributed to strengthening wealth inequalities. According to Forbes, in 2024 the youngest French billionaire was Remi Dassault, son of Olivier Dassault, and heir to the Dassault aerospace and software fortune. At only 22 years old, his wealth was estimated at 2.5 billion dollars.
Furthermore, pregnancy and its impact on a woman’s career were also to be considered when trying to understand the gender pay gap. Indeed, a drop in women's income often accompanied the arrival of a child, and according to a survey conducted in 2023, around 47 percent of female executives declared that returning to work after maternity leave was not easy. Therefore, income inequalities combined with the social expectation to take care of the children have made women more at risk of poverty than men. For instance, poverty particularly affected single-parent families and by extension, single women with children, since in most cases of heterosexual couples separating, the mother was the one to get custody of her children.
Finally, tax fraud remained a serious problem in France. In May 2023, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal presented the Government’s roadmap to act against it. The first results showed that in 2023, tax evasion recoveries reached 15.2 billion euros, a record level that exceeded 14.6 billion euros recovered in 2022. However, this number was still low compared to the total amount of tax fraud. It was estimated that on average, between 80 and 100 billion euros escape the budget of the state and local authorities each year, due to tax evasion and fraud. In comparison, the estimation for social benefits fraud represented around three billion euros.
Social inequality
Such disparities in living standards were not only due to an unequal repartition of wages. Indeed, according to a study conducted by the General Commissariat for Strategy and Forecasting, in France, social background remained the main factor determining income levels, far before gender or migratory ancestry. Social background, meaning coming from a modest or privileged family, impacted people's revenues, as it conditioned their access to different educational pathways. For example, French people who graduated with professional education diplomas earned less than those who had the opportunity to pursue higher education careers.Moreover, households’ assets were also interrelated to wealth inequalities. In 2021, the poorest 10 percent of the French population owned on average net assets worth 3,000 euros maximum while the wealth of the richest 10 percent was worth at least 633,200 euros. Finally, inheritance logically contributed to strengthening wealth inequalities. According to Forbes, in 2024 the youngest French billionaire was Remi Dassault, son of Olivier Dassault, and heir to the Dassault aerospace and software fortune. At only 22 years old, his wealth was estimated at 2.5 billion dollars.
Gender inequality
The second factor determining income levels was gender. Even though significant progress on the gender pay gap was made in the past years, gender remained one of wage inequality's important causes. However, in this case, differences in educational opportunities were not the main obstacle to equal pay, since women on average were more highly educated than men. Therefore, pay differentials between men and women were mainly due to women's position in the labor market, like the occupation held, or the number of hours worked. For example, women were more likely to work part-time or in low-paid sectors than men.Furthermore, pregnancy and its impact on a woman’s career were also to be considered when trying to understand the gender pay gap. Indeed, a drop in women's income often accompanied the arrival of a child, and according to a survey conducted in 2023, around 47 percent of female executives declared that returning to work after maternity leave was not easy. Therefore, income inequalities combined with the social expectation to take care of the children have made women more at risk of poverty than men. For instance, poverty particularly affected single-parent families and by extension, single women with children, since in most cases of heterosexual couples separating, the mother was the one to get custody of her children.
Lack of social justice efficiency
In the struggle against wealth inequalities, the State's action towards more effective social justice is crucial, for example, concerning the redistribution process. Indeed, in France, income tax was progressive and based on several income brackets. This meant that if a person earned less than 11,294 euros net yearly, they were exempted from taxes, while a person who earned between 11,295 and 28,797 euros would be taxed at an 11 percent rate. However, according to some experts, such as the French economist Thomas Piketty, it seemed that proportionally, the ultra-rich paid fewer taxes than most of the French, highlighting the weaknesses of the redistribution process.Finally, tax fraud remained a serious problem in France. In May 2023, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal presented the Government’s roadmap to act against it. The first results showed that in 2023, tax evasion recoveries reached 15.2 billion euros, a record level that exceeded 14.6 billion euros recovered in 2022. However, this number was still low compared to the total amount of tax fraud. It was estimated that on average, between 80 and 100 billion euros escape the budget of the state and local authorities each year, due to tax evasion and fraud. In comparison, the estimation for social benefits fraud represented around three billion euros.
