Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
Earnings and wages in France - statistics & facts
In 2023, France was among the five biggest economies in Europe along with Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain. That year, the average annual wage amounted to 43,592 euros. Despite nominal wages growing over the long term, high inflation since 2021 has resulted in a recent real terms fall in earnings, which has led to industrial action in France. Indeed, since 2022, 79 percent of companies indicated they experienced at least one strike where remuneration was among the reasons for it.
Meanwhile, the subjective poverty line has consistently increased since 2008, when the minimum net income decided by the French population under which a single person was considered poor was 1,006 euros, compared with 1,396 euros by 2024.
Wage inequality in France
The most recent data on the gender pay gap in France highlighted that salary differences between men and women were slowly reducing but still existed. In 1980 men earned around 40 percent more than women and were still receiving salaries around 17 percent higher 40 years later. In order to continue working towards the reduction of wage inequality, reducing the gender pay gap among older age groups where the gap is far more conspicuous, would clearly be a positive step in that direction. Moreover, France remains a highly centralized country and important salary differences still exist between the capital city and the province. For instance, in 2021, Parisians earned an average monthly income of 3,218 euros when employees living in Bretagne only received 2,251 euros.France's highest earners
In 2024, Bernard Arnault was by far the richest person in Europe and seemed to have promising days to come, considering that LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) was evaluated being the most valuable luxury brand in the world. Like Arnault, other managers of large companies in the private sector were among France’s highest earners. Indeed, in 2021 the average net monthly salary for executives managing 500 or more employees was around 15,074 euros. On the other hand, in the public sector, doctors, pharmacists and dentists were among the professions with the highest remuneration, with an average net monthly salary of 6,220 euros. In the French system, employees working as public servants are spread in different categories from A to C, with category A being the most prestigious one, coming along with higher responsibilities and higher salaries. For instance, employees from this category earned an average net monthly salary of 3,090 euros. Finally, having graduated with three years or more, in a higher education degree would assure you a higher salary . For instance, in 2020 a French person with no diploma earned an average annual salary (after social contributions) of 14,800 euros when a person who studied at least three years after the baccalauréat, the high school final exam, earned an average salary of 37,080 euros.
