Unpopular pension reforms would force low-wage workers in France to put in a couple more years on the job — and yet the country’s superrich have arguably never had it so good. For all the complaints about supposedly stifling regulation and excessive taxes, France is home to more than forty billionaires — including the world’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, whose fortune recently eclipsed $200 billion. His family and others, like the Bettencourts, Wertheimers, Saadés, and Pinaults, sit on mountains of inherited wealth bound up in globally renowned brands like L’Oréal, Chanel, and Yves Saint Laurent, capturing lucrative profits even as the global economic situation sours.

The ultra-wealthy also benefit from numerous allies in government, maintaining close ties to the world of French politics. Thanks to President Emmanuel Macron, they benefit from a reduced levy on capital gains and are no longer required to pay a wealth tax as of 2018. According to economist Gabriel Zucman, the wealthiest 370 households in France pay an effective tax rate of just around 2 percent. A recent poll found that more than eight in ten French people still believe the “class struggle” is a reality today. But if so, why is the minority winning it?

In his book Parasites, released in February by publisher Les liens qui libèrent, labor sociologist and editor of Frustration magazine Nicolas Framont takes aim at the ultra-wealthy and the stranglehold they exert over French culture and politics — all the while making a renewed case for how to shift the balance of power. He spoke with Jacobin’s Cole Stangler about the particularities of France’s moneyed elites and how the country’s working majority can start winning the class war.