France, a founding member of the European Union and for decades one of its wealthiest economies, is sliding steadily down the continent’s prosperity rankings, raising alarms among economists and commentators who warn that the country risks prolonged stagnation with little prospect of recovery.
For the third consecutive year, France’s national wealth per capita has fallen below the European Union average and now also trails that of Cyprus, according to the latest data from Eurostat. The figures mark a symbolic reversal for a country that once viewed southern and eastern European states as economic juniors and regarded Germany as its closest peer.
Measured against an EU average indexed at 100, France’s gross domestic product per capita stood at 98 in 2024, Eurostat’s most recent data show. Germany ranked at 111, while the United Kingdom came in just below the EU average at 99. Smaller economies such as Luxembourg and Ireland continue to far outperform the bloc, with GDP per capita more than double the European mean.
France’s relative decline has been particularly stark when compared with Italy. In 2020, Italians were more than 10% poorer than the French, but the gap has now virtually vanished. A European Commission study found GDP per capita at purchasing power parity at $59,683 in France and $59,453 in Italy, underscoring how France’s long-held economic cushion has eroded.
The figures come as Europe as a whole continues to lose ground against the United States in terms of economic power, a trend that has fueled frustration and pessimism in Paris. Commentators on the right have been especially vocal. Nicolas Baverez, a prominent essayist and former senior civil servant, wrote in Le Figaro that France had become “the Argentina of Europe,” warning that the country was caught in an “infernal spiral” toward what he described as third-world status.
Those fears have been sharpened by the 2026 budget approved by parliament on Monday, which critics say entrenches the very policies that contributed to France’s malaise: high taxes, rising public spending and expanding debt. Public expenditure, already among the highest in the developed world, exceeds €1.7 trillion and is set to rise by a further €38 billion this year. Tax revenues are expected to reach 43.9% of national wealth, up from 43.6% the year before.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who leads a fragile minority government, has acknowledged the budget’s shortcomings but argued that passing any budget at all was an achievement amid deep political instability. Since President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call snap parliamentary elections in 2024 backfired, successive governments have struggled to survive confidence votes, leaving France with what Lecornu himself has called its weakest government in decades.
To secure Socialist Party support, Lecornu agreed to suspend a flagship pension reform, raise taxes by €6.5 billion on wealthy households and €7.3 billion on large companies, and expand welfare measures, including higher benefits for low-paid workers, subsidised student meals and increased funding for social housing. Economists critical of the deal argue that it represents a retreat from Macron’s earlier pro-business agenda without addressing structural weaknesses.
The government had initially aimed to reduce the public deficit from 5.4% of GDP last year to 4.7% by 2026, largely through spending cuts. It has since softened that goal to a 5% deficit this year, relying mainly on tax increases, while national debt, already at €3.4 trillion, continues to climb.
Beyond fiscal concerns, analysts point to deeper structural issues, including low labour participation. France’s workforce typically enters the labour market later, exits earlier and works fewer hours than its northern European neighbours, with little in the new budget designed to change that dynamic.
Politically, reactions have been sharply divided. Macron’s centrist allies argue the budget provides stability, while critics on the right condemn what they see as an abandonment of reform. On the left, Socialist lawmakers have openly celebrated the concessions they extracted from a weakened government. The Court of Accounts has warned that maintaining the status quo risks further deterioration, calling for urgent action to rein in deficits and debt.
Demographic trends have added to the gloom. Last year, France recorded more deaths than births for the first time since the Second World War, with population growth sustained only through immigration, eroding one of the country’s long-standing advantages over its European peers.
With a presidential election approaching next year, commentators say the government’s room for manoeuvre is narrowing further. Many fear that political caution and short-term fixes will prevail over the deeper economic reforms that critics argue are needed if France is to halt its slide down Europe’s wealth ladder.
