Jérôme Fourquet, director of the “Business Opinion and Strategies” department of the Ifop polling institute, was the key witness to the 6th edition of the Allier Business Trophies. In Moulins, he deciphered two current economic and societal issues.
Jérôme Fourquet was the great witness to the 6th edition of the Allier Business Trophies, this Thursday evening.
The director of the “Business Opinion and Strategies” department of the Ifop polling institute spoke of two major issues of the moment, including the “demeanization” of society: “The Trente Glorieuses was a period of averageization, according to sociologist Henri Mendras, with the spread of an average standard of living throughout the population, de-averageization has appeared since the 1980s. Society is increasingly bringing together a millefeuille, with a class. “What’s worrying is what happened to the lower middle class.”
The Allier Trophies reward 2024 successes
A two-speed offer
In terms of consumption, “we saw the arrival of a two-speed offer, with the appearance of hard discount brands, and the arrival of the Dacia brand in France in 2005, which has continued to develop. Today Today it is the third best-selling brand to individuals.
For the observer, “It is the illustration of a secondary market, a notch below the traditional market. We can also cite the Action brand, today the number one favorite brand of the French. There is also the development of outstanding consumer credits, and “la France du Bon coin”. The starting point of the yellow vest crisis was this de-averaging of French people who work, but do not have the means to pay for certain products.
Loss of centrality of work
He also spoke of the loss of centrality of work.
Work has lost its centrality over the past forty years. Today, we only have 24% of French people who tell us that work is important in their lives. This is firstly explained by the fact that we spend less time there. By increasing the legal duration to 35 hours per week in 2000, that is six weeks less over the course of a year.
Second explanation, “business life has changed. The omnipresence of processes and financial imperatives have led to a loss of meaning among workers. Only 44% of French people have the feeling of being recognized for their work, a lower proportion than the other countries. This loss of centrality was already observed, but was accentuated by the Covid crisis.
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Ariane Bouhours
