France Records Highest Poverty Rate in 30 Years with 9.8 Million People

New figures on poverty have shaken France's image as a "welfare state" after the number of French people living below the poverty line reached a record high not seen in three decades.

Shocking figure

9.8 million French people live below the poverty line, representing 15.4% of the country's population. This official figure for 2024, the last year with available data, is the highest level since the National Institute of Statistics began measuring poverty using comparable standards in 1996.

The figure exceeded the peak of 2011 following the financial crisis and the peak of 2018, which preceded the explosion of the Yellow Vests movement, according to an analysis published by the French newspaper "Le Monde."

These numbers prompted major unions—the General Confederation of Labour, the Democratic Confederation, and Force Ouvrière—to call for a strike, while social movements initiated by secondary school students feed on a shared sense of decline and impoverishment.

Poverty line?

The poverty line represents 60% of median income, which divides the population into two equal halves. This equates to less than €1,337 per month for a person living alone, and less than €2,807 for a couple with two children under the age of 14.

"Le Monde" noted that the recorded figure is lower than reality, as the statistics do not include residents of overseas territories, those living in nursing homes, or the homeless.

Single-parent households, one in three families living below the poverty line, are among the most affected, followed by individuals living alone who have not yet reached the age of 65. Generally, young people are more vulnerable than the elderly; the Institute confirms that 11% of youth between 16 and 25 years old experienced persistent poverty between 2021 and 2024.

A study by the "Ipsos" institute and the "Linkee" association, published last April, revealed that approximately 70% of students have only €100 or less left per month after paying rent.

Solidarity system loses strength

The French redistribution system, through taxes and solidarity allowances, still plays a significant role. Thanks to it, 4 million people remained above the poverty line, particularly single-parent households, large families, and the unemployed.

However, the system is weakening. In 2013, it reduced the poverty rate by 7.7 percentage points, but ten years later, it only reduces it by 6.3 points, according to the Research and Studies Directorate at the Ministry of Health. The French Observatory attributes this to economic conditions, which led to reduced housing benefits and weaker increases in family allowances.

Work protects against poverty, but to very different degrees: fewer than one employee in fifteen lives below the poverty line, but one in five self-employed individuals does. Self-employed workers constitute about one-third of poor workers.

Most worrying is that the poverty rate rose by 2.6 percentage points between 2014 and 2024, despite a 5.3-point increase in the employment rate among those aged 15 to 74.

The Observatory notes that improvements in the labor market across the rest of Europe were often accompanied by a decrease in poverty. It explains the disconnect between the two in France by the proliferation of precarious jobs, especially in micro-enterprises, and the increase in interns whose wages fall below the poverty line.

According to a recent study by the Institute, out of six poor people in 2021, only one permanently exited poverty starting in 2022 without returning to it in 2023 and 2024.

71% of those who were poor in 2023 remained so in 2024. Stagnation has never reached this level before, and the groups most exposed to poverty now remain in it for longer periods.

Tangible deprivation

Poverty manifests as tangible deprivation. One in five people, more than 20%, lived between 2022 and 2025 unable to cover at least 5 of the 13 items considered essential by the European Union for an acceptable standard of living, including adequate heating, covering unexpected expenses, internet access, and a protein-rich meal every other day.

The deprivation rate remained around 12% between 2013 and 2020, then suddenly decreased during the pandemic thanks to exceptional measures supporting modest households, before rising again to a "stable high level of around 13%," says Benjamin Gillebert, responsible for inequality and poverty studies at the Institute. This is the highest level to date.

Deprivation is not limited to fleeting moments. The Research Center for Living Conditions found that two-thirds of respondents in its survey said they deprive themselves of daily purchases to prioritize exceptional expenses that bring them joy.

According to the newspaper, there is no relief on the horizon regarding the current situation, especially since prices rose by 3.4% last October compared to the previous year, driven by a surge in energy prices.