“The Feeling of Downgrading in Public Services: Political Scientist Jérôme Fourquet’s Analysis”

Guest of the Grand Rendez-vous this Sunday, April 30, on CNEWS, political scientist Jérôme Fourquet, director of department at the Ifop institute, returned to the feeling of downgrading felt by all French people in the public service.

A feeling of downgrading our social model. This is the general perception that the French would feel about public services, according to Jérôme Fourquet, political scientist and department director at the Ifop polling and statistics institute. He was this Sunday, April 30, the guest of Sonia Mabrouk in the Grand Rendez-vous, on CNEWS.

According to him, the report seems clear in the public opinion: “The French judge negatively the evolution of the public services, in particular the two central pillars which are the school and the hospital, by saying that the situation is deteriorating”. The political scientist also points out that “opinion surveys” show that the level of satisfaction is falling.

strong dissatisfaction with the social model

This feeling has been perceptible in the polls for several months now. On November 7, a Ifop survey for the JDD showing strong dissatisfaction with the social model. 61% of French people felt that they were working “badly”, or even “very badly” for 18% of them.

A feeling reinforced today in the difficult economic and social context that households are going through. In a survey relayed by The Parisian on April 8, more than one in two French people (53%) admitted to having reduced their food portions consumed, when 42% admitted to having eliminated a meal of the day.

“Many French people today share this interpellation of Jacline Mouraud, one of the figures of the yellow vests, which is” what are you doing with our money?”, continues Jérôme Fourquet. The latter also highlighted the financing of public services, since “we are characterized in France by a very high level of public expenditure, but also by a level of compulsory levy among the highest in the world to finance this social model”, he argues.

These would be primary causes that would explain the massive rejection of the population to government measures, including pension reform. “That’s what makes, in part, that the French are not ready to make more efforts”.

In the survey carried out by Ifop last November on public services, 52% of French people believed that the school was working well, against 27% for the hospital and only 23% for the justice system. Supporters of the National Rally (76%) and France insoumise (68%) are also among the most virulent against their operation.