[FR] France, 24-30 August 2009 - Words of Europe: what the French expect

The 100 words of Europe: ‘peace’ remains the main value and expectation of French people towards the European Union

On behalf of the think tank Notre Europe and the daily newspaper Libération, the Médiascopie Institute conducted a survey of French people between 24 and 30 August, testing 100 words related to the European Union. The 300 people surveyed were asked to rank these words on a scale of protection and importance for the future. The majority of the words tested were rated positively, showing that the French consider ‘peace’ to be a fundamental value and their top priority. This must be a real guarantee against old threats that remain present in people’s minds (‘fascism’, ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘Chernobyl’) and new ones (“terrorism”, ‘illegal immigration’, ‘discrimination’, ‘GMOs’ and ‘tax havens’), which are rated below 5 on a scale ranging from 0 (‘this word threatens me’) to 10 (‘this word protects me’).

The results of the study identified six major expectations among the French:

Sustainable development: The French want sustainable development (the fourth most protective word) to be taken into account at the environmental and social levels (with social Europe receiving a very high rating).
Peace and democracy: ‘Peace’, ‘principle of citizenship’, ‘European citizens’ rights’ and ‘European public opinion’ are the highest-ranked words: they are considered protective and decisive for the future.
Multiple identities: The French feel the need to preserve strong local roots (the word ‘AOC’ products, for example, is one of the most protective and decisive), but they have no difficulty combining European and national identities.
Security: Europe is expected to be protective, and initiatives in the areas of justice and defence are well rated.
Growth: The crisis worries the French, but they see the European Union as a key driver of recovery.
Free movement: The French expect Europe to facilitate exchanges through free movement and to strengthen social ties.

This study also shows that words belonging to the past, such as the foundations of the European project, the people, the works and the founding objectives of European integration, are very highly rated.