France: The issue of purchasing power

Series on the debates of the French presidential campaign – No. 2 This Flash examines an important issue for policy programmes in the French presidential election. The issue of French households’ purchasing power is being talked about with increasing frequency and noise . But it actually masks three very different questions: the question of low wages and whether they can be increased significantly without destroying low-skilled employment; the question of the sharp rise in energy prices that may result from the energy transition; and the question of housing costs and rising real estate prices .