As Emmanuel Macron launches the political comeback by gathering party leaders in Saint-Denis on Wednesday, the French are approaching this return from summer vacation in a gloomy frame of mind related to the economic situation.
According to a new “L’Opinion en direct” survey conducted by the Elabe Institute for BFMTV, while a majority (68%) of the French believe that they are doing well personally, 79% of those surveyed believe that the country is not going to fail. very well (54% not well and 25% not well).
Purchasing power, the priority political issue for the French
The main concern of the French continues to be, according to our Elabe survey, the economy. For 56% of those surveyed, purchasing power should be the executive’s number one priority for the coming months, a level equivalent to that of June. 35% mention security, up from 26% in June and 20% in April, according to previous Elabe surveys. 31% of those surveyed mention health among Emmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne’s priorities for action.
Then come the environment and ecology, as well as immigration for one in four French people: immigration should be the subject of a government bill in the coming weeks. Emmanuel Macron spoke in particular with the Spot his desire to “significantly reduce immigration, starting with illegal immigration.”
Purchasing power is the priority issue for most categories of the population, but it is especially mentioned by employees and workers (68%), inhabitants of rural municipalities (64%) and women (60%). But since the beginning of June, the issue of security has progressed in all categories of the population and voters: the voters of Marine Le Pen in the first round of the 2022 presidential elections (43%, +11), of Emmanuel Macron (38%, +22), Jean-Luc Mélenchon (19%, +14) and among teetotalers (33%, +14).
slowdown in inflation
The national statistics institute Insee also highlighted on Tuesday the confidence of households in the face of the rather weak economic situation. When publishing its synthetic indicator of household confidence corresponding to August 2023, INSEE indicated that its indicator stands at 85, that is, a stable level compared to July and June but that it is still “well below” its average of long period, which is 100.
The prospects for the evolution of their financial situation are valued more negatively (-4 points) by the approximately 2,000 households surveyed by telephone, unlike the past financial situation (+2 points). Regarding the economic context in France, households are less likely to think that the situation will improve in the next twelve months (-5 points).
A perception largely linked to inflation. According to INSEE, food prices, for example, were 12.7% higher in July than the previous year, which represents a slight slowdown compared to June (+13.7%). However, a reduction in the level of inflation does not correspond to a drop in prices on the shelves, but to a slower increase.
According to our Elabe survey published on Wednesday, 89% of the French fear seeing their purchasing power fall in the coming months and 84% fear having to make decisions on their spending that they had not made before.
Sample of 1,003 people representative of residents of mainland France aged 18 and over. The representativeness of the sample was ensured according to the quota method applied to the following variables: sex, age and profession of the interviewee after stratification by region and agglomeration category. Internet interrogation from August 29 to 30, 2023.
Source: BFM TV
