Paris gets younger as over-60s leave
Census figures show older people are leaving the capital, though those who stay are much better off than rest of France
PARISIANS are getting younger as more students arrive in the capital and the over-60s head for sunnier or less polluted climes.
A study by statistical body Insee from the last census has shown there are 417,500 over-60s in the capital and the percentage, at 19 per cent, is less than the numbers for France as a whole (22 per cent). Of the over-60s, 12 per cent are between 60 and 74 and seven per cent are aged over 75.
An influx of young students, heading to the capital to finish their degrees or to look for a job, is credited with a large part of the change with 13,200 extra young people arriving between 2002 and 2007.
Older people are also leaving the capital, even before they reach the retirement age of 60, although the majority remain within the Ile-de-France. However, some head for the south, the centre or the west of France in search for cleaner air and a cheaper cost of living.
Some older people are also “forced out” of Paris by the need to find sheltered housing or the equivalent, which is in short supply in the capital.
This shortage has also meant a greater number of dependent older people who need care are still living alone in the capital compared to the provinces, with 51 per cent of over-75s living alone and four out of 10 old people in general.
However, the number of over-75s is growing at a much slower rate than in the rest of the country, up to six times less than in other cities
There is a greater percentage of older people living on the rive gauche,in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 16th arrondissements, than is common in other areas of France and these residents generally have a better standard of living than their peers in the north and east of the city.
Not only are they better off than their peers in the city but Parisian seniors are better off than the national average with income of €2,800 a month compared to €2,300 in Ile-de-France and €1,800 in the rest of the country.
They are also in a better state of health than their compatriots with the life expectancy now standing at 85.5 years for women and 79.6 for men compared to 84.3 and 77.5 years.
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