Between 2021 and 2022, the prices of goods and services rose by an unprecedented amount. Under the assumption of unchanged consumption, this increase represented, on average, around 1,320 euros in additional annual spending per person. Relative to their standard of living, these increases have weighed more heavily on the poorest than on the wealthiest. The impact was more than twice as great for the bottom 10% as for the top 10%.

Compared to these additional expenses, the social and fiscal system, especially the emergency anti-inflation measures, absorbed more than 40% of the losses for the lowest 30% and 15% for the middle-income groups. Activity and financial incomes have also risen significantly. For people between the 7th and 9th decile, the rise in income from wages and assets covered just under two-thirds of the shock. For the wealthiest 10%, the main beneficiaries of wealth income, the increase in primary income compensated for 95% of the additional expenditure.

Overall, the rise in the standard of living compensated for a significant proportion of the additional expenses, 90% on average for the whole population. However, this proportion varied according to standard of living or place of residence. It fluctuated between 80% and 85% for the poorest 80% of the population and for people living in municipalities outside urban areas or in urban areas with less than 200,000 inhabitants. It was significantly higher, at around 90% on average, for people with living standards between the 8th and 9th decile and for residents of cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants outside Paris. It was over 100% on average for the wealthiest 10% and for residents of the Paris area.