The Observatory of Inequalities has published its report on inequalities, confirming a fractured France. The department of Aude is no exception, with modest incomes—sometimes well below the poverty line—and significant disparities. .

Every two years, the Observatory of Inequalities publishes an overview of social fractures in France. The 2025 report, released on Tuesday, June 3, highlights environmental inequalities for the first time. But it also confirms—unsurprisingly—the widening gaps in income, access to employment, education, and housing. And Aude, one of the poorest departments in France with a median income of €1,790 compared to €2,028 nationally, also illustrates the persistence of inequalities at the local level.

Residents of Aude living well below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, set at 50% of the median income, stands at €1,014 per month in 2025. And it’s clear that in Aude, a portion of the population is well below that line: the poorest 10% of people in towns with more than 2,000 residents earn a maximum of €898. Disparities exist between towns as well: in Quillan, the poorest earn a maximum of €775 per month, while the least well-off in Palaja receive up to €1,221 (again, as a maximum).

The department ranks 35th in inequality nationwide.
To determine this, the Observatory of Inequalities uses the Gini index, ranging from 0 to 1: the closer it is to 0, the more equal the distribution; the closer to 1, the greater the inequality. It measures the distribution gap between the 1st and 9th income deciles—that is, between the maximum income of the poorest and the minimum income of the wealthiest. In Aude, it stands at 0.269. These disparities are even more pronounced in the department’s larger towns.

In Carcassonne, for example, the Gini index is 0.301; in Narbonne, it is 0.304. Respectively, the poorest in these cities earn a maximum of €812 and €845, while the wealthiest make at least €2,915 and €3,060. The phenomenon can be further exacerbated depending on the neighborhood.

In the Aude prefecture, the greatest disparities are found in the city center, with a Gini index of 0.339: in this area, the richest 10% live on at least €2,507, while the poorest 10% get by with no more than €695. The Païchérou-Bellevue district follows closely, with a Gini index of 0.338—a minimum of €3,059 for the wealthiest and a maximum of €783 for the poorest.

In Narbonne, the most unequal neighborhood is Vallière, where the poorest 10% earn a maximum of €1,093, and the wealthiest earn at least €3,799. But it is also the city’s wealthiest neighborhood overall, with a median income of €2,110.

Beyond the local and national figures, this report highlights a fragmented social reality.
It’s a dynamic that does not spare the Aude department, which faces structural poverty and an unemployment rate above 10%. In his foreword, Louis Maurin, director of the Observatory of Inequalities, warns:
“We can continue to ignore the warnings the Observatory has been sounding for over 20 years through its publications […] In that case, we should not complain about the political consequences of such deafness.”