French households hold record 6,356.4 billion euros in financial wealth, surpassing national debt

This figure far exceeds the national public debt and surpasses the market capitalization of the CAC 40. Behind this impressive accumulation lies a societal choice : that of massive savings, oriented towards safety rather than yield. A French paradox, at a time when the economy calls for innovation and markets for controlled risk-taking.

The financial wealth of French households reached 6,356.4 billion euros, marking an absolute record as revealed by the Bank of France. This staggering sum, which far exceeds the national public debt and surpasses the market capitalization of the CAC 40, is a testament to a societal choice: massive savings oriented towards safety rather than yield. It presents a French paradox at a time when the economy calls for innovation and markets for controlled risk-taking.

While France is often portrayed on the brink of financial bankruptcy according to several analyses, highlighting the deterioration of the country's public finances, this contrasts sharply with the apparent solidity of private wealth. The latest figures published by the Bank of France reveal that the financial wealth of French households amounted to 6,356.4 billion euros as of December 31, 2024.

This marks a 1.7 % increase over one year, although the record high was reached in the third quarter of 2024. The bulk of this wealth is held in risk-free savings products, a preference driven by the current context of economic uncertainty and volatility.

The Bank of France notes that "the colossal size of this amount is explained by the high savings rate of the French (18 %), which confirms a lasting trend to prioritize safety over yield."

This capital preservation strategy is evident in the structure of household wealth, which is largely composed of deposits and easily realizable securities, attesting to a preference for immediate liquidity and the absence of risk over the search for yield.

The French have chosen to place their trust in classic products such as life insurance, a choice that some deem ineffective and opaque. In a recent report by two deputies, Jean-Philippe Tanguy (RN) and François Jolivet (Horizons), life insurance is particularly targeted for its lack of transparency and underperformance.

The report highlights "significant and poorly understood management fees" collected by insurers, as well as the historically low returns achieved by life insurance funds. Their calculations show that between 1999 and 2021, unit-linked investments in variable life insurance policies showed an average annual performance of -8 %.

This statistic fuels the broader debate on modernizing popular savings in France and the need for reform.

In contrast, mechanisms such as staking, crypto ETF, or interest-bearing stablecoins are experiencing rapid growth in several European countries, offering alternative investment opportunities with potentially higher returns.

However, these options are struggling to gain traction in France, which can be attributed in part to a lack of financial education or still unclear regulation. There is a real structural inertia in French wealth management, with the weight of history, taxation, and the traditional banking offer hindering the exploration of new solutions.

This situation begs the question of how to reorient a part of these 6,000 billion euros towards vectors of innovation and yield, without betraying the legitimate caution of savers.

In a context of technological and monetary revolution, where traditional financial models are challenged, France still seems hesitant to take the step. But as criticism intensifies, particularly around the increasing fragility of traditional real estate, as evidenced by the collapse of a significant part of household wealth, and as decentralized products mature, a mutation of wealth allocation becomes inevitable.