Also, the real estate bubble has popped in the USA, UK, Spain, Ireland... but not in France (yet). There was a drop in 2009, but the powers that be managed to re-inflate it with tax breaks and zero interest loans. So it's "back to normal" and of course, This Time Is Different>.

Construction business is an important part of the French economy and, as noted by Crédit Suisse, of the French people wealth.

At least for the "ordinary" people: I'd be surprised if the top 1% had the bulk of their assets in real estate.

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.