© cottonbro studio – Unsplash
According to a recent study by CSA Research (for LesFurets.com) with From a panel of just over 1,000 French people aged 18 and over, it appears that just under a quarter of us would be overdrawn each month. The study also focuses on the “Overdraft Day“, this famous day when the switch occurs between a current account that still shows (sometimes timidly) a positive balance, before sinking into the red.
The French and the “Overdraft Day”
On this subject, last year, the Overdraft Day fell on the 17th of each month. According to the study carried out last November, this same day has moved up by one day, and the French would therefore generally find themselves overdrawn on the 16th of the month. Worse still, for 44% of people who are affected by a monthly bank overdraft, the latter would occur as early as the first half of the month.
There was a time when people used to mock (in a very clever sketch by Jean Marie Bigard) “poor people who are overdrawn on the 5th of the month, when they would only have to wait two months to have a month in advance“, the reality in 2025 is that many French people still have an overdraft on their current account every month. In total, we would therefore be 22% at your our bank account would drop below zero every month.
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In 2024, what will weigh on household budgets is obviously the rent, and a little over 30% of tenants would be in the red each month. And if young people (18/24 years old) are concerned, at 29%, they remain a minority compared to 25/34 year olds (35%).
There is a simple reason for this: the very often presence of one (or more) children. Indeed, according to CSA Research, no less than 35% of French people with (at least) one child under 15 in their care are regularly overdrawn. Added to this are of course increases in the “cost of living“, with the increase in the cost of foodstuffs, not to mention the price of gas, electricity, fuel…
© Roman Wimmers – Unsplash
So many elements that forced the French to tighten their belts at the end of last year, with in particular an average budget allocated to the Christmas period which 8217; amounted to €497 (-€52 vs 2023), the lowest recorded since the creation of the barometer in 2017. “In detail, the budget allocated to Christmas varies from single to double depending on age, €323 for 25-34 year olds, against €718 for those aged 65 and over” explains CSA Research.
However, let us remember that the tax authorities are making their traditional January payment, and that this operation, affecting nearly 9 million French people, represents an average of 645 euros per beneficiary household.
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