Among the typical French things, there is a rather strong tendency to want things to remain as they are. We are a bit reactive around the edges. However, over time, the French change, whether they want it or not, and that is verified by the numbers. The proof with a whole bunch of stuff that we do less and less (don’t worry, “bitching” is not part of this list.)
1. The French believe less and less in God
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When asked if they believed in God, 51% of French people answered “no” while in 1947, 66% of French people had faith. Already the profession of priest has not been very popular lately, it is not ready to work out. And at the same time, are we going to be moved by it? No, no more than that.
2. The French have less and less confidence in the police
In 2020, only 60% of French people said they had confidence in the police compared to 75% in 1999. The decline is enormous, but that can be understood given all the images and news of police violence that have circulated in recent years.
3. The French drink less and less alcohol
There’s no debate, it’s good news for everyone (except perhaps for gastroenterologists who will lose patients). In the 1960s, the French drank like holes, at the rate of 200 liters of alcohol per year per person. Today, we are more around 80 litres. Normal since now we have cool things to do at home. At the time, there was no Netflix so the best entertainment was to put a good minasse in your head. Yes, that’s how we imagine the 60s.
4. The French drink less and less milk
In fifteen years, milk consumption has fallen by 25% in our country and the trend continues. There was just a small recovery during confinement because everyone was making cakes and pancakes, but the decline quickly started again as soon as we were able to step outside. As soon as we were able to do more interesting things than making pancakes.
5. The French withdraw less and less cash from ATMs
With the evolution of online payments and contactless payments by credit card, we withdraw much less cash than before. At the same time, walking around with wads of beef in your pocket wasn’t reassuring, so that’s fine with us.
6. The French do less and less housework
Among men, who already did not do much, the trend is stable, but women have been doing half an hour less cleaning per day since 1999. This means that it was already necessary to do at least 30 min cleaning per day??? Nobody told us about it.
Source: INSEE
7. The French save less and less
10 years ago, 54% of French people could save money every month, and this figure has risen to 39% today. Does this have anything to do with the fact that the standard of living of the French is getting lower and lower? It is possible, yes. Is that scary? Yes too.
8. The French are less and less respectful of barrier gestures
At the same time, we have to admit that these barrier gestures are a pain in the ass. And then we didn’t bother queuing for hours to get vaccinated so that in the end we were told to continue to make the same efforts as before. That’s what it would be like if we were selfish.
9. The French go less and less to the shops
Between 2019 and 2021, store traffic fell by 3%, and that of hypermarkets by 7%. This is all due to the rise in online shopping, and at the same time it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Sorry if you thought you were smart.
10. The French eat less and less meat
30% of French people say they eat less meat than before, and 30% is one of the highest figures in the world. We no longer want to eat steaks at every meal, which is ultimately quite understandable. A steak a week is already good enough. The flexitarian life what.