The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) published Tuesday a study on high incomes in France. Source of wealth, income level, place of life, it makes it possible to draw a robot portrait of these "super-rich". To join the club of the wealthiest 1% of French people, INSEE estimates that a single person must earn more than 9,000 euros per month and a person in a couple with two children more than 19,000 euros per month.
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A strong concentration in Île-de-France
If there are few super-rich in Brittany, the region of France which has the least in proportion to the population, they are more numerous in Île-de-France. On the outskirts of the capital live 43% of the very high French income, mainly in Paris and in the Hauts-de-Seine. Outside Île-de-France, border departments with Switzerland have the highest income. In Haute-Savoie, for example, they represent 2% of the population.
This trend is even more pronounced if we consider the richest 0.1%, with a monthly income above 22,360 euros. More than half (54%) indeed reside in Île-de-France. According to INSEE, this is explained by "the economic weight of the territory" and the high proportion of managers.
A majority of couples without children
Regarding the composition of these households, they are more often couples without children (37%) or elderly households, with a member over 60 years (48%). Conversely, women living alone represent only one in ten tax households among those with a very high income, against 1 in 5 in the general population.
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The income of these super-rich comes more often than among all French people from their heritage. For 22% of people with very high incomes, wealth is the main source of income, ahead of income from work.
Inevitably, very high incomes pay more taxes. According to INSEE, they donate 30% of what they receive in direct taxes while all French people donate only 15%. This is, among other things, the effect of the progressive income tax schedule.