What lies behind France's low level of income inequality?

We document the evolution of working-age individual pre-tax and disposable income inequality in France since the late 1960s using household surveys. Disposable income inequality declined over the 1960s and 1970s and remained stable thereafter. This trend can be explained, in part, by changes in the tax and benefit system, notably through changes in employer contributions, and the evolution of the national minimum wage. Other dimensions than income bring a less positive perspective: low-income individuals are now more likely to be immigrants, have low education, and live in households with no working adults.