An INSEE report published on November 18 shows that the top 0.1% of wealthiest French earn on average 167 times more than the poorest quarter of households. This gap has widened significantly over twenty years, even as tax reforms under Emmanuel Macron have lowered rates for the rich. Their average income stands at 1 million euros per year.
The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) released a report on Tuesday, November 18, examining the incomes of the top 0.1% of wealthiest French, totaling 40,700 households in 2022. To join this group, one needed to declare at least 463,000 euros that year. Half of these households live in Île-de-France, mainly in Paris and Hauts-de-Seine, with the primary declarant's average age at 56 years.
Their average annual income is 1 million euros, half from dividends and financial assets, and 38% from salaries, wages, or pensions. Profiles include bosses, heirs, senior executives, lawyers, models, artists, and athletes. INSEE notes that among the top 100 private sector salaried workers in 2023, 36 were professional athletes, mostly Ligue 1 footballers.
These ultra-rich are married or in PACS at 82%, compared to 32% for other households. Between 2003 and 2022, their average income more than doubled in current euros, rising 119%, or 2.6 times faster than the rest of households (+46%). Reforms under Emmanuel Macron have lowered their tax rates, widening the gap with the broader population. This trend, politically explosive in France—the only country with 'equality' in its motto—underscores a growing divide.