France: Time to stop the demagoguery on income distribution

The coronavirus crisis has given rise to many demagogic positions on income distribution in France, the general idea being that government support for the economy must be conditional on a major change in income distribution. But we should not forget that in France (unlike in many other OECD countries): Real wages are continuously outpacing labour productivity, so there is no anomaly to correct in macroeconomic income distribution; Unemployment is mainly unskilled unemployment, and the sensitivity of unskilled employment to its cost is high; The dividends paid represent a return on the capital invested that does not seem excessive; There is no empirical evidence that dividend payments have weakened wages or investment. The basis for a major change in income distribution therefore seems to be very weak.