The joy of living, the romanticism, the love, the French flair… Seen like that, the French could pass for a happy people. Well that’s not really the case if we are to believe a Eurobarometer survey published this Wednesday. Complainers and champions of the strike, the “refractory Gauls” are distinguished by their pessimism about the European Union less than two months before the elections. In all neighboring countries, the majority of people surveyed say they are rather optimistic about the future of the bloc, led by Denmark, Ireland and Lithuania.
In contrast, France is the only one of the 27 Member States where optimists are in the minority (42%), overtaken by pessimists. A trend that has been increasing in recent years because according to a survey dating from 2020, 52% of French people were “very” or “rather” optimistic about the future (compared to 44% pessimists). In Germany, optimism remains in the majority (60%) but it is also decreasing compared to 2020 (72%).
Only 8% know the date of the European elections
This French gloom cannot of course be explained solely by the European Union. They are also more likely (76%) to think that things are going in the wrong direction in the country, compared to 65% if they are asked at the European level. The French also express greater concern about the evolution of their personal standard of living. 69% believe that it has fallen over the last five years (compared to 45% on average in the EU) and 53% think that it will fall in the next five years (compared to 32% at European level).
The French are also those who have the worst image of the European Parliament (only 27% have a positive image of it) and the majority of them (53%) admit to being upset about the European elections. However, 67% of French people plan to go to the polls on June 9. But only 8% of them admit to knowing the exact date of these elections…