A new poll reveals that 82% of French citizens are reducing their spending due to perceived decreased purchasing power.
A recent Elabe poll shows a significant majority of French people are cutting back on expenses, citing a lack of slowdown in rising prices.
The Thursday poll revealed that 82% of respondents are tightening their belts, with 29% reporting significant reductions and 53% moderate ones. Only 18% said they haven’t needed to cut back.
The survey also found that 65% of French citizens believe their purchasing power has fallen recently, with 27% reporting a substantial decrease and 38% a slight one. Conversely, 22% reported no change, and 13% saw an increase.
Elabe noted that the percentage of people experiencing a major drop in purchasing power is 13% lower than the peak seen in November 2022.
Despite lower inflation, 74% of respondents reported no noticeable slowdown in daily price increases. Furthermore, 30% admitted to regularly exceeding their credit card limits over the past year—14% monthly and 16% several times a year.
Meanwhile, no major political figure enjoys majority public trust to alleviate financial strain. For instance, only 18% trust President Emmanuel Macron to improve purchasing power.
In contrast, Marine Le Pen and Edouard Philippe each received 34% confidence in this area.
The Elabe survey polled 1,001 French metropolitan residents over 18.
As of December 2024, France’s inflation rate was 1.3%, a significant decrease from 4.9% in 2023 and 5.2% in 2022 (INSEE). This decline is attributed to stabilized energy and food prices.
France’s economic growth is projected to slow, with the Bank of France forecasting 0.9% in 2025, down from a previous estimate of 1.2%, partly due to domestic political instability.
In December 2024, Prime Minister Michel Barnier resigned after a no-confidence vote regarding his 2025 budget proposal. This plan, aiming to reduce the public deficit from 6.1% to 5% of GDP, faced opposition from across the political spectrum, leading to the government’s collapse.