While prices continue to jump, an economist from the French Observatory of Economic Conditions (OFCE), quoted by “Le Parisien” this Thursday, May 19, explained why some French people were more affected than others by this phenomenon.
It’s no surprise to anyone: prices keep soaring in supermarkets and gas stations. According to the latest INSEE figures, average inflation over one year thus stood at 4.8% in April. However, the French are not not all affected in the same way by this phenomenon which deepens their budget a little more. According to a study by the French Observatory of Economic Conditions (OFCE), which was based on the figures for the month of March, “10% of households have seen the price of their consumer basket increase by less than 2.5% and 10% of households have experienced an increase in the cost of their consumption basket more than 8.4%“, cited The Parisian this Thursday, May 19.
And contrary to what one might think, determining a typical profile of these French people who are more affected by the rise in daily prices is proving complicated. As Raul Sampognaro, the economist behind the study, points out to the Parisian, “it is very difficult to draw a typical portrait of these households because, for a given standard of living, there are quite contrasting situations“. For the specialist, these are the “socio-demographic characteristics” who “weigh more in determining the impact of inflation on a person“.
Highly impacted vehicle owners
For example, the people who live in the countryside are more likely to use their car to get around, since the supply of public transport is less extensive than in the big cities. What drives them to have to pay more fill-ups, a considerable expense in a household’s monthly budget. Result: while national average inflation over one year stood at 4.5% at the end of March, this inflation rose to 6.3% in rural areasversus 5.1% in urban areas (and even 4.1% in the Parisian metropolis). According to the OFCE study, vehicle owners are generally more affected by rising prices, especially when they have to make long journeys on a daily basis, compared to French people who are content to travel by bus, by metro or even by bicycle.
The middle classes more affected than the richest
Disparities also exist according to age. “The older we get, the more statistically we have a chance of live in older, less well-insulated housing“, explains Raul Sampognaro, who specifies that the energy bill of the elderly, who often stay at home and therefore need to heat their interior for example, has a greater tendency to climb. Finally, the study reveals that it is the middle classes who “bear the brunt of price increases“. In comparison, “the poorest households living in a thermal colander [soit un logement très mal isolé, donc très énergivore NDLR] don’t even heat up“, which means that their budget is much less impacted by rising energy prices. As for the wealthiest households, “the weight of energy expenditure, for example, weighs less heavily in their consumption basket“.