F
rench democracy is ailing, and its ills are manifold. For 12 years now, the "French Fractures" survey, conducted by the Ipsos polling institute for Le Monde, has provided detailed examinations of the state of French society. In 2025, after months of political instability, the latest edition's results show an increase in distrust, despair, pessimism about decline and a desire to oust the political class. These are particularly worrying symptoms that illustrate the depth of France's current democratic crisis, less than two years ahead of the next presidential election.
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Poll: French government crisis deepened public distrust of political leaders
The rift between voters and their representatives, which was already vast, appears to be growing wider. According to the survey, 96% of respondents reported feeling dissatisfied or angry about the state of the country. Moreover, while President Emmanuel Macron's first term failed to rekindle people's enthusiasm for politics, his second term has left part of the French public disillusioned, with many indicators having sharply declined over the past three years. Today, 90% of those surveyed believed the country was in decline, whereas the same indicator stood at "only" 75% in 2022.
