Les Français de plus en plus sensibles à l’environnement, mais des habitudes pas toujours faciles à changer

Commissariat général au développement durableSep 7, 2026

Tri des déchets, habitudes alimentaires, achats responsables : en 2025, les Français ont été nombreux à faire évoluer des gestes du quotidien pour protéger l’environnement. Mais certaines pratiques pourtant jugées efficaces, comme réduire l’utilisation de la voiture ou souscrire à une offre d’électricité verte, restent encore peu répandues.

Waste sorting, eating habits, responsible purchases: in 2025, many French people changed their daily routines to protect the environment. Yet some practices, though recognized as effective, such as reducing car use or switching to green electricity, remain still uncommon.

2 chapters

Most Common Actions
Growing Concern
• In 2025, French people continue to express strong concern for the environment: their level of anxiety about climate change exceeds the European average. One in two French people consider climate change to be a "very serious problem," compared with 37% of Europeans, or just over one in three. • Two-thirds (66%) of French people say they take action to limit their impact, while the average in the European Union stands at 59%. However, this percentage has slightly declined in France as in Europe between 2023 and 2025, and changes in habits remain unequal (Source: SDES, Environmental Assessment 2025).
Waste Sorting First
Waste sorting remains the most common practice, adopted by 75% of French people, compared with 64% on average in Europe. More than half of French people have also reduced their use of disposable products.
Food and Appliances
Reducing meat consumption and choosing energy-efficient appliances are also practices adopted by more than one-third of French people (Source: SDES, Environmental Assessment 2025).
Deeper and More Difficult Changes
Challenging Practices
Some practices are considered particularly difficult to implement: limiting car use, favoring walking, cycling or public transport, and buying ecolabeled products. In 2025, 22% of French people reported reducing their car use, a figure below the European average (26%) and far lower than that of Swedes (63%). The use of renewable electricity remains also limited in France (6%), as does the installation of solar panels (4%).
Reducing Energy Use
Reducing energy consumption is an effective action well recognized by French people: it ranks among the most frequent practices, even though it is considered fairly difficult to implement (Source: SDES, Environmental Assessment 2025).

Further reading