The debate on dividends in France: What are we really seeing?

A fairly widespread theory in France is that dividends paid by companies are too high, and that this has led to a detrimental reduction in investment, research spending and wages. We therefore want to review the facts: can we find evidence of a rationing of corporate spending caused by an excessive level of dividends? Is the return on holding shares abnormally high for shareholders? The scope we use includes companies operating in France and not the CAC40 due to the massive weight of business abroad for CAC40 companies. We see that: Dividend payments peaked in 2008 and have declined since; It has not reduced investment, R&D or wages; The return on equity capital is on a downward trend, and the gap between the return on equity capital and the risk-free interest rate has fallen.