Energy, food… Inflation worries the French. According to the latest Odoxa* barometer by BFM Business, Challenges and Abeille Assurances published on Thursday, more than 9 out of 10 people (92%) say they are concerned about the level of inflation in France and its evolution in the coming months. The economic morale index remains at its lowest point (-56) with 78% of respondents declaring to be “fairly less confident” compared to 22% “more confident”. This index has been cut in half since the beginning of the year.
And this pessimism is confirmed: 75% of those surveyed believe that the economic difficulties will be even greater in 2023 than in 2022, 10 points more than in May and 33 points compared to the beginning of the year. Furthermore, the level of inflation perceived on average by the French (+12.5%) is double that recorded by INSEE. A little more than a third of those surveyed even think that inflation is above 15%.
Dive into the savings
Faced with inflation, the French resort to their savings. According to the barometer, 46% of the French have already dipped into their savings or have requested one or more loans to meet daily expenses, a figure that has risen 10 points since June. And the rest could take the plunge soon: Nearly a third of respondents (29%) say they haven’t tapped into savings or taken out a loan yet, but plan to do so in the future.
*Survey conducted on October 26 and 27, 2022 with a sample of 1,005 French representative of the population aged 18 and over
Source: BFM TV
