Are the French so eco-friendly?

Published on 04/29/2024 11:06

A survey identifies the wishes of the French regarding the development of green cities. Verdict.

YouGov, a research company, investigated the French and the ecology for the DIY platform Manomano.fr. The idea: to take stock of how we perceive the city and what we are ready to give up as concessions to make it more "green".

Cities with more green spaces

According to this YouGov study, the French concern for a greener and greener city remains strong:

- 45% of French people want more green and natural spaces in their city
- 35% want spaces dedicated to the recycling of composite waste
- 36% want gardening spaces (green walls, garden roofs ...)
- 33% are for community gardening spaces open to citizen initiatives
- 30% request the generalization of eco-neighborhoods

Gardening and green spaces are the 2 most popular items for cities. And it is the women who are the most sensitized by these green initiatives of the order of a few points of difference for each answer given.

And only 19% of French respondents do not want any green initiative.

The French, not motivated to act

Despite a real craze for cities to implement green initiatives, the French are not really inclined to invest. Thus, 40% of French people do not wish to give of themselves in the initiatives listed above. Only 24% of those surveyed would be ready to put in place more green and natural spaces (such as parks, balcony planters ...).

French green cities

According to the Express, 8 criteria are observed to recognize a green city (so green):

- Green spaces in m2 per inhabitants
- The rate of recycled waste
- The CO2 content of the district heating network
- The quality of the air
- The carbon emission in kg per year per inhabitant related to transport
- The share of lanes reserved for public transport
- The proportion of traffic lanes limited to 30 km / h
- The part of the lanes reserved for cyclists

And the French city that is awarded first green city is the Alsatian capital, Strasbourg . It hosts nearly 68 m2 of green space per capita while the average ranking is only 27.6 m2. Paris is ranked 5th green city, in front of Toulon, with 10 m2 of green space per inhabitant.