France's poverty rate climbs to record 15.4% as threshold rises to €1,337

The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) released its 2024 report on living standards. It set the monetary poverty line at €1,337 per month for a single person, up from the previous level, and recorded that 9.8 million people – 15.4 % of the French metropolitan population – now live below this threshold, the highest rate measured since the study began in 1996.

The median disposable income reached €2,228 per month for a single individual, reflecting a 1.8 % increase in real terms. Despite this rise, the report notes that inequality has also hit a historic high, with the richest 11 % of households holding assets above €820,400 and 4.8 million people (7.5 % of the population) classified as rich. Groups most affected by poverty are unemployed individuals (poverty rate 36.1 %) and single‑parent families (34 %). Retirees fared better, with a poverty rate of 10.4 %.

"La pauvreté reste à un niveau historique inacceptable et continue de s’enraciner," warned the Alerte collective, urging the government to prioritize eradicating deep poverty.