Does it sound strange to you?
The median salary in France is 1,940 euros net per month. This means that 50% of French people earn more than this amount and 50% of French people earn less.
A person living alone with 60% of the median salary, i.e., less than 1,063 euros net per month, is considered poor.
She is considered rich if she earns 3,470 euros net per month.
Households in France spend 35% of their budget on housing. Along with transportation (18%) and food (17%), these are the highest spending items.
Source : Insee
It is estimated that there are now more than 1 million people working and living on less than 885 euros per month. Their standard of living is below the poverty line. These are the working poor.
The working poor are mainly blue-collar workers, employees and self-employed. Women, young people and foreign-born people are the most affected by poverty.
Why are they most affected by poverty? Because they often have unskilled, part-time or precarious jobs.
To go further
Consult the other articles on the blog dedicated to work
Video
Foreigners’ perspective on working the “French way”. You can find all of our videos about working in France, in this playlist.
