One in five people feel alone in France, says report

Loneliness is gaining ground. One in ten French people are isolated and one in five feel alone, announces the Fondation de France in a report published Tuesday January 23. According to this survey, 12% of French people find themselves in a situation of total isolation, compared to 11% in 2022, that is to say with no or very little (only a few times a year) physical contact with the five relational networks: family, friends, colleagues, neighbors or associations.

By adding those who only use one relational network, i.e. one in five people, a total of around a third of French people are thus in “relational fragility”, according to the Fondation de France. The most modest – unemployed (20%) and workers (18%) – are more exposed to isolation, according to this report based on a statistical survey carried out in January and July 2023 by Crédoc, supplemented by an ethnographic survey of people alone and isolated.

Young people lonelier than seniors

Inflation seems to make the situation worse: seven out of ten people say they have reduced their outdoor activities due to rising prices. Furthermore, one in five people (21%) say they feel alone. This is particularly the case for young people aged 15-25, a quarter of whom (26%) feel alone (compared to 16% of those aged 70 and over), a proportion which rises to 45% during the summer. Isolated people and those who feel alone are “much more numerous” in rural areas and priority neighborhoods, areas that are poorer than the average, according to this document.