4 figures that help explain the affordability crisis behind France's protests

4 figures that help explain the affordability crisis behind France's protests Protesters gather at "Monument a la Republique" during demonstrations in Paris, France. Bloomberg/Getty Images France's growing anger over the cost of living erupted into scenes of looting and violence over the weekend.While most of the hundreds of thousands of people who demonstrated across the country did so peacefully, clashes broke out between police and some protesters, with officers firing tear gas.The unrest began as student protests over worsening school conditions, but has since grown into a broader movement fueled by frustration over the unaffordability of life in France. Read more about the protests and riots in France: The financial pressures facing French households are familiar to Americans: surging energy prices, wages struggling to keep pace with inflation, and the difficulty of making ends meet.Here are four numbers that help explain the financial frustrations driving the protests.1. The poverty rate is at a 30-year highINSEE defines monetary poverty as having a standard of living below 60% of the national median, adjusted for household size. In 2024, that threshold was €1,337 a month for someone living alone.France's monetary poverty rate stood at 15.4% in 2024, its highest level since annual records began in 1996, according to INSEE data published in July. The figures are the latest available because calculating poverty rates requires detailed tax and benefits records, which take time to compile and analyze.That means around 9.8 million people in mainland France were living below the poverty line.2. Energy prices are up more than 60% since 2015It's not just Americans who are grappling with rising energy costs. Energy prices in France increased by more than 60% between 2015 and the first half of 2026, according to INSEE. Electricity prices rose 43% over that period, while fuel prices were 31% higher at the end of 2025 than in 2015.As with much of the world, the war in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz crisis sent fuel prices soaring. By April 2026, fuel prices in France were 30% higher than at the end of 2025, per the INSEE report.Rising fuel costs were behind French protests in September, and members of that movement have joined students and trade unions in the riots over the past week.3. Nearly 3 in 10 French people can't afford unexpected expensesData from Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, shows that 28.8% of people in France lived in households that couldn't afford an unexpected expense without borrowing or seeking financial help in 2025.France isn't particularly unusual in the wider European context — the EU average was also around 29% — but the figures illustrate the financial insecurity facing almost a third of households as people protest over the cost of living.4. More than 40% of French people experienced some difficulty making ends meetMore than four in 10 people in France (41.1%) lived in households that reported at least some difficulty making ends meet in 2025, according to Eurostat data.Of those, 19.4% reported some difficulty, 13.7% reported difficulty, and 8% reported great difficulty, highlighting the widespread financial strain facing French households. Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Joshua Nelken-Zitser is an award-winning correspondent at Business Insider’s London bureau covering the affordability of modern life.Through features, investigations, on-the-ground reporting, and As Told To essays, he explores the changing cost of major life milestones, what people choose to spend on when they can’t afford everything they want, and how they adapt as traditional markers of success become less attainable.Joshua previously spent five years on the news desk, reporting from the US, across Europe, and the Middle East. In 2025, he moved to the business desk to cover wealth, spending, and consumer culture.In 2024, he received the Axel Springer Award for Change — Journalistic Piece of the Year and was highly commended at the British Journalism Awards for an investigation into state-subsidized gender-transition surgeries in Iran.His debut book (TRAUMA BONDS: How Generational Trauma Shapes, Divides and Connects Us) will be published by HarperCollins in January 2027.Got a tip? Email jzitser@businessinsider.com. You can also follow him on X or Instagram. Protests France