France’s monetary poverty rate climbed to 15.4 % in 2023, its highest level since the indicator was introduced in 1996, the national statistics office Insee said in its annual report. The share is up 0.9 percentage point from 2022, meaning about 9.8 million people—roughly one in seven residents of mainland France—lived on less than 60 % of the median income. The poverty threshold stood at €1,288 a month for a single adult. In one year, an additional 650,000 people slipped below that line. Insee attributed the surge to the expiry of temporary cost-of-living supports such as the 2022 inflation allowance and back-to-school bonus, and to a growing proportion of low-earning micro-entrepreneurs among the self-employed. Income disparities widened alongside the rise in poverty. The richest one-fifth of households received 4.5 times the income of the poorest one-fifth, the widest gap in at least three decades. The Gini coefficient increased to 0.297, close to its 2011 record, as gains from strong employment and higher financial returns flowed mainly to upper-income groups while real incomes at the bottom fell. Single-parent families were hardest hit, with a poverty rate of 34.3 % after a jump of nearly three points, pushing child poverty to 21.9 %. Retirees were comparatively shielded, with their poverty rate edging up to 11.1 % thanks to pension adjustments. Insee warned that without structural policy measures, the erosion of living standards for the most vulnerable risks becoming entrenched.