Insee Première · June 2026 · n° 2113

Environmental Changes Raise Concerns, yet Day-to-Day Practices Are Not Driven by Environmental Considerations

In 2025, in metropolitan France, one in ten people cited the environment as the country’s top issue out of a list of seven options. Concern for the environment increased with diploma, income and satisfaction in life. Four in ten people said they were very concerned about the effects of climate change. This concern was more pronounced in densely populated urban areas, among the highly educated and among women.

When it came to protecting the environment, nearly nine in ten people felt they were making as much or more effort than others. However, in daily practices, efforts were not primarily motivated by environmental considerations. For example, reducing heating in winter was more often driven by budgetary constraints, while limiting meat consumption was motivated by health or economic reasons. For journeys of more than 100 kilometres, travelling by car was preferred to using public transport. Overall, those most willing to change their practices for environmental reasons were also the most concerned about environmental issues.