France enjoys a reputation for having a generous social safety net that provides well for the least fortunate. But weeks of Yellow Vest unrest have highlighted that many French citizens live in lingering economic uncertainty, reports FRANCE 24.
France ranks among the countries that most generously redistribute resources from rich to poor, and yet great disparities in wealth persist. In many ways the working poor – embodied by the Yellow Vests – feel they are being left behind.
Since the start of the 2008 economic crisis, the median living standard has stagnated in France overall. In 2015 this amounted to €20,300 per year, slightly lower than it was in 2008.
Wages also remain relatively low compared to other Western industrialised nations. The median annual wage of the top 10 percent was €56,640 in 2015 versus the paltry €8,280 earned by the bottom 10 percent. Individuals in the highest income bracket account for only 1 percent of the population (defined as those earning at least €106,210 annually or €8,850 a month).
Disparities between those at the top and those at the bottom also remain stark. In 2014, the top 10 percent took in 33 percent of pre-tax income compared to just 23 percent received by the lowest 50 percent, according to the 2018 World Inequality Report. The top 1 percent received 11 percent of total income.