What reveals the notebooks of complaints of the French | EUROtoday

L. de C .: There is after all the easy financial definition. And so the center class, we are able to say that these are households within the earnings scale, between 20,000 and 40,000 euros per yr. But it’s a definition that’s incomplete. There are “middle classes. We have chosen to define the middle classes by their aspirations: a work that pays, a free but sustainable way of life, and social ascent. One in two French people recognize in the middle class, what unites them is these expectations.

Read too “The center class is France barbecue within the backyard” Why do the middle classes feel threatened?

Pa. V .: There is a risk of downgrading, the border between popular classes and middle classes is more and more porous. They experience a feeling of insecurity which is increasingly large, and above all there is no longer this possible social mobility to get out from the top of the middle class. The smicardization of the labor market means that they feel more and more in favor, they find it increasingly difficult to access the property.

L. DE C .: In the 1980s, by a growth of wages which was much higher than inflation and with access to property which was enormous, the middle classes went from the precariation to the workforce with a cdistis rate which progressed very strongly. It was the golden age of the middle class.

You also question the role of economics. Is there a divorce between economists and the middle classes, who are not found in their speeches?

Pa. V .: Yes, economists are little interested in the concrete expectations of the middle classes. For example, in 2003, at the heart of the European campaign in 2003 and the referendum on the Constitution, there was the famous concern around the “Polish plumber” which risked lowering the wages of French workers.

It was not until 2024 that a serious study was published on the subject. Result: Yes, there is a negative effect in places where there are many detached workers. This is one example among many other central questions for the middle classes and which economists should pay attention.

Why this disinterest?

Pa. V .: It is above all a question of method and academic valuation. Large newspapers publish on macroeconomic subjects such as debt, international trade … Not on waste or water pricing. And then, most economists come from favored environments, they do not know the reality of the middle classes.

The rate of access to higher education is lower in Nièvre than in Seine-Saint-Denis, but there is no dedicated policy.Paul-Armand Veillon

You also mention the fracture between major cities and peripheral France. Is this a central theme in complaints?

L. de C .: Yes, very clearly. The inequalities between metropolises and territories are omnipresent, especially in transport, housing, education. Public policies are perceived as oriented towards metropolises, while poverty in medium -sized cities is as strong as in certain suburbs. However, there is no priority policy for these territories.

Pa. V .: For example, the rate of access to higher education is lower in Nièvre than in Seine-Saint-Denis, but there is no dedicated policy. Another example, in Confolens, in Charente, in the city center, is the same poverty rate as in Saint-Denis. And it is true, unfortunately, in most sub-prefectures in France.

Among the themes addressed, that of work is central. What do the middle classes ask?

L. de C .: The middle classes require above all that the work really pays: they want to be able to live decently with their salary, without depending on aid, and regain real economic security. Their message is simple: restore value to work.

Pa. V .: You have to make the system more readable. Today, if you are a modest household and you work 8 hours more, the drop in social benefits means that your total income ultimately increases only the equivalent of 2 hours of salary. Hence our idea of ​​”wage defend”: guarantee that each hour worked always brings more than inactivity.

This raises the question of tax justice, in particular on inheritance and heritage. Is it a work/capital opposition?

Pa. V .: Not really. It is above all a question of guaranteeing social mobility. Today, your heritage in fact depends more than half of the inheritance you have received, rather than the income you have generated. We propose to finance the drop in contributions by a large plate, such as VAT, and to better tax successions, but not to increase taxation on capital in general.

We hear the French more and more wondering “Where is the cash going?” », Is tax consent threatened?

L. de C .: Yes, there is an erosion of tax consent. 60 % of French people are net beneficiaries of public money, but 70 % declare themselves dissatisfied with its use. It is therefore necessary to assess public expenditure. For example, it is proposed to attach the Court of Auditors to Parliament, to objectify the debates and lead to consensus. This is the case in the United States and Great Britain.

Another subject crystallized the challenge of yellow vests: ecological transition. How are the middle classes positioning?

To uncover



The kangaroo of the day

Pa. V .: The center courses aren’t climatosceptic, however they imagine that ecological coverage has been designed for metropolises, with misunderstood exemptions (maritime, air, and many others.). They say: “We don’t perceive, we enhance the carbon tax on fuels whereas these sectors, that are a minimum of simply as polluting, are fully exempt. »The center courses require a good effort. They additionally count on ecological insurance policies that remodel their day by day lives: vitality renovation, day by day transport …

Set off from actualityfrom Louis de Crevoisier and Paul-Armand Veillon, Éditions de l’Observatoire, April 2, 2025.