74 



FRANCE - AGRICULTTJRAI, ECONOMY IN GENERAL 



VI which applies to 185 households of agricultural labourers not fed by their 

 employers, distributed ovei the eight regions already named. 



For all these 185 households the average weekly expenditure was 22.28 

 francs per household and 6.07 francs per personal unit (i). If annual ex- 

 penditure be taken to be equal to weekly expenditure multiplied b}' fifty- 

 two, we reach the result that food and drink absorb 81 per cent, of income 

 in these families (2). 



Table IV. — Households of Unjed Agriculiural Labour ers. 

 Average Expenditure on Food and Drink in One Week of Winter {francs). 



The expendiure on food per head varies from 5 to 7 francs a week ac- 

 cording to districts, but it should be noted that families belonging to the 

 various districts vary in the amount of their income and in their composi- 

 tion. The largest expenditure takes place in the northern district in which 

 income is highest. Expenditure is relatively large in Region VII (Central 

 West) in which income is small but the average size of the observed families 

 is also small. The average expen'diture per personal unit is lowest in Re- 

 gion VI (Central Massif). 



Bread absorbs about a third of the expenditure on food. For all 

 the 185 households the percentage of the expenditure which goes to bread is 



(i ) A cliild is reckoned to constitute only a fraction of a " personal unit ". 



(2) The enquiry found that this percentage was only yi in the case of the households of 

 industrial workers in j^laces comprising less than 10,000 inhabitants ; but in these households 

 the expenditure is larger per personal unit, namely 7.43 francs instead of 6.07 francs. 



