Adonis Diaries

What’s the total wealth of French citizens?  In material added-value?

How much France is currently worth, stock and lock, land and citizens, in material added-value throughout the centuries?  The French weekly “Le Nouvel Observateur” published an account “Who possess France?”  The weekly estimated that France is worth a bit over 12 trillion Euro, about $14 trillion?  This is the national debt of the US. Which means, if the US possessed France, it could sell it piece-meal and pay off its entire debt!  The US has the expertise of purchasing decrepit a business, repackage it, and resell its asset one chunk at a time.

Indeed, who own France?  The French families own 76.5% of the wealth, the non-financial societies 15%, the financial enterprises over 5%, and the State about 3.5%.  The French households accumulated Real Estates valued at 6.5 trillion Euro.  For example, it is estimated that the average French family is valued to be richer than the German counterpart, but less than the English family.  What that mean?

It means that the French State and its communities failed to satisfy the housing requirements for its citizens:  Real Estate value doubled in the last decade, while the real added-value of doing business increased only by a third in the same period:  The GNP or internal brute production of France lagged far behind Germany and many other leading European States.  Germany is the leading exporter of material goods in Europe, far ahead of France.

Thus, while the French families were asleep, their conservative financial strategy doubled in a decade, but the French citizens are nowhere positioned to compete in the world market, except in selling their properties for the wealthiest around the world. In 2010, 62% of French household owned one or more properties.

France is subdivided into 180 million parcels.  The average mass agricultural land is about 75 hectares, and about only 5% are over 200 hectares.  A political decision kept the price of agricultural lands low:  Around 4,000 Euro per hectare, compared to 15,000 in Germany and 20,000 in England.

The French State is so indebted and needs a lot of liquidity that it has been selling most of what it possesses: highways, historical locations, sky resorts, publicly owned enterprises such as generating electicity… Most of these properties are supposedly purchased by local communities: As if the State is unable to maintain the properties, the communities could do the job! 

Real Estates put on the market by the State, with value over 2 million Euro, are purchased by foreign investors 55% of the time.  It is estimated that the French State owns 10 billion Euro in Real Estates, land and building.

The French communities are actually in charge of over 43,000 historical monuments representing 40% of the total.  Private owners are in charge of maintaining 5,000 out of the 6,500 best Castles such as Cheverny, Chenonceaux, Usse, Villandry, Clos-Luce…

The billionnaires around the world are vying for the sunny locations on the Mediterranean Sea.  The billionnaires try their best to infringe on the rights of the public for free movement, especially on the public beaches, by setting nets with the lame excuse of protecting the beach from meduses or even setting security zones around their yachts and properties… The communities are watching and preventing these astute prespasses on public rights, guaranteed by law.

A Real Estate in France valued at over 4 million, one out of two owners are foreigners.  Real Estates valued at over 30 million are purchased by Saudis, Qataris, Chinese, and Russians.  The most beautiful Real Estates in the Cote d’Azur have a turnover rate every 7 years.  In the Capital Paris, it is the Italians who buy the luxury properties and hotels.