Savings, is France divided in two? The French have changed their behavior with the war

The war in Iran divides France: 4 out of 10 people save more, while 4 others save less. Here’s why.

The snapshot of the country’s economic situation, according to the latest Elabe poll for BFMTV, is simple: 42% of French people are now playing it safe by putting more money aside. Why are they saving more? Because they are convinced that the war will continue, fuel prices will remain high, and growth and employment will deteriorate.

And then, we also have 42% of French people stating that they are already tapping into their savings to cope with rising prices, especially for fuels. This does not prevent 3 out of 10 French people from ending up in overdraft more often than before the war, and 1 out of 10 even considering taking out consumer loans.

The France of high incomes on one side, the France of low incomes on the other?

It’s more complicated than that, because today’s inflation shock is mainly focused on fuels and energy. So it all depends on what these two items represent in your budget.

For example, a single person on the minimum wage, living in a city, using electric heating and public transportation: the cost of their life has only increased by +2% over the past year, just a few euros per month.

And at the other extreme, you have a family of executives with two children living in a house heated with oil or gas, needing two cars to commute to work, who will experience an inflation rate of 8 to 10% over a year, resulting in an additional cost of 100 to 200 euros per month.

And in between, you have those who are better off, urban households, especially those who can telecommute, and homeowners with well-insulated houses.

Those who will feel the impact the most are logically the most modest ones, especially single parents with tight budgets: artisans, shopkeepers, self-employed professionals, heavy consumers of fuel, retired couples heating with gas or, even worse, fuel.

So there is a wide spectrum of cases, which obviously complicates the assistance that can be provided to one profile or another.

Emmanuel Lechypre (Edited by J.A.)