France: The return on equities has to be higher than on risk-free assets
If the objective is to ensure that a larger share of French savings is invested in companies, and particularly in equity, equities have to provide a higher return than risk-free assets (risk-free bonds, life insurance), given the tax system. We can see that: A long-term investor cannot rely on capital gain s on equities; The dividend yield on French equities is slightly higher than 3% before taxes; and (after the Macron reform of the taxation of capital) around 2.25% after taxes; The return on life insurance (account s in euros) is around 1.6% after taxes (with, in addition, no inheritance tax); Given the high variability of share prices, the equity risk premium must be high: the risk-adjusted return on French equities is far lower than the return on risk-free assets. Contrary to a widely held notion, the dividend yield in France is too low: it does not make it possible to channel savings into corporate capital.