[nikanj]

The poor in France still have access to education, healthcare, etc. These rates are not comparable.

[perl4ever]

Are you denying the existence of public education, Medicaid, etc. in the US?

[JPLeRouzic]

In French media (newspaper, TV), it is usual to state there is no medicaid, nor medicare in US ("pas de sécurité sociale, pas de retraite").

I guess it is a way to make people to not complain, because...

* The widely praised "sécurité sociale" does not reimburse much and nearly nothing for common health problems and not everybody has acces to it. The CMU was voted in France only in 1999 when Medicare exists since 1965.

* Every employee pay for a "mutuelle" (it is mandatory by law!) even if employees pay already high taxes for the "sécurité sociale".

* As for the "retraite" (medicare) most young people will get only half of what people like me receives, because of a convergent string of laws that were initiated 25 years ago.

[adventured]

70 million people in the US get free healthcare via Medicaid + CHIP. That nearly covers 2x the poverty rate.