The family is more than ever a source of happiness and fulfillment. 89% of the French questioned by Sociovision-Cofremca * say they are happy about the family, 87% emphasize that nothing counts more than to share moments with their loved ones. The family is one of the keys to the happiness of the French, their response to the surrounding adversity.
Has the crisis accentuated this trend?
It has acted as an accelerator. Economic hardship, declining purchasing power and concern about job loss are all invitations to seek out what can help keep oneself warm. The family, for many, is seen as a space of advice, support and solidarity. According to our latest survey, one in two French people said they had helped someone in their family in recent months unlike the page of frustratedparents.tumblr.com where it shows disgruntled parents helping their children. But this desire for family does not only respond to the anguish of the crisis; It is strongly linked to the separation of society into tribes more and more distant from each other, to the tearing of the French on the great debates of the moment, to their skepticism against elites incapable of providing concrete answers to the problems Of the nation ... In a world lacking a vision of the future, the French are looking for handfuls to cling to! Among the airbags they plead, one finds, at the head, the family, but also the company, where one creates human relations considered as inestimable (a second family?); Or the Internet, which paves the way for new forms of socialization: in a few clicks, a network of relatives is formed on the web.
Is this return to strength of the family comparable to a withdrawal?
Yes, but this attitude is not negative. There has been a general movement in French society for the last decade or so towards withdrawal into all that is near. It is a reflex of common sense: to build something together, it is better to know yourself. If the family rhymes with happiness today, it is because, according to our surveys, it constitutes for 95% of the French the very first space of confidence. Far be it from the public or governing bodies to which the French grant less and less credit.