
Purchasing power variation in France 2007-2020
The decline of French purchasing power
Purchasing power, which is the quantity of goods and services that an income can buy, is linked with the inflation rate and the disposable income of households. In France, the inflation rate peaked in 2008 with 2.8 percent. Since then, and after a decline from 2013 to 2018, the inflation rate has been slightly increasing in France, reaching 1.8 percent in 2018, and 1.6 in 2021. This had a strong impact on the purchasing power of French households since the average annual household disposable income in France remained stable since 2005.
An important issue in the French public debate
The purchasing power has always been a sensitive topic within French public debate. In 2019, during the Great National Debate launched after the Yellow Vests movement, the purchasing power was mentioned as the priority issue that should be addressed during the debate. Most of the French public perceive the economic policy pursued by Emmanuel Macron and his Prime Minister, as having a negative impact on their purchasing power.