Trends in France for achieving the Agenda 2030 sustainable development goals (SDG)

According to the Banque de France, the number of cases of over-indebtedness fell by 7% between 2021 and 2022, and has fallen by half since 2014. Women are the most at risk of over-indebtedness, as they earn on average 22% less than men, and because they are four to five times more likely to be the head of a single-parent family; 54% of over-indebted persons between the ages of 25 and 54 are women. Unemployed persons are also overrepresented. The total debt of over-indebted households reached €4.9 billion in 2021. Among over-indebted persons, 60% have a standard of living below the poverty line, 25% are unemployed, and 50% of over-indebted households have a repayment capacity of less than zero.

In France, the Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (SRCV) survey collects data on income and financial situation as well as employment, well-being and health. These data enable the poverty rate to be measured in terms of living conditions, an indicator designed to provide a better understanding of the phenomena of poverty and social exclusion and to assess the effectiveness of policies to combat inequalities. In 2021, the poverty rate in terms of living conditions stood at 11.4%, a significant drop compared to 2020 (-2.1 points). The 2021 figures are slightly below the average rate of 11.7% in the EU.

In 2013, net housing expenditure as a share of income was 18.3% in mainland France. This is the most recent figure. The 2019 assessment of personal housing benefits shows that these subsidies are one of the pillars of French housing policy. They benefit around 6.5 million households, and are among the most redistributive forms of government aid, with 99% going to households in the first three income deciles. These allowances have a significant impact on low-income households. For example, for a couple without children living outside of the largest urban areas, with income equivalent to one minimum wage and base rent (excluding utilities) of €330, personalized housing assistance would reduce their housing cost burden from 24.0% to 18.8% of their income.

The Écoantibio plan has produced very positive results: overall animal exposure to antibiotics has been reduced by half since 2011 (down 47% over 10 years according to the results for the 2011-2021 period, with the first Écoantibio plan implemented in 2012).

Based on the earliest available data from 2020, there was a slight decrease in people forgoing protein consumption for financial reasons between 2020 and 2021 (-1.0 point), but it remains difficult to determine a long-term trend. A 2010 study conducted by the former French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA) found that adults living in households experiencing food insecurity for financial reasons presented even greater dietary imbalances than those observed among people who reported lower average incomes but did not perceive themselves as experiencing food insecurity. The various manifestations of food insecurity were particularly brought to light by the COVID-19 crisis, and in November 2020 a national coordination committee for the fight against food insecurity (Cocolupa) was established to combat food insecurity.

In the data set used, the indicator has not been updated, but France predicts an improvement in this indicator in particular due to the “green payment” mechanisms implemented under the new CAP.

The 2021 figures on the use of plant protection products were published in November 2022 and show a significant improvement compared to several years ago (2021 NODU = 88.5 million ha, 2014 NODU = 105 million ha). This is attributable to several government actions taken to reduce the risk and use of pesticides. The Écophyto Plan II+ will accelerate the withdrawal of the most concerning substances, improve the prevention of public exposure to plant protection substances, support research and innovation and support farmers through the transition. In June 2022, the European Commission adopted the “Nature Protection Package”. This legislative package is composed of proposals for the Nature Restoration Act and a new Regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides (SUR). Following the interministerial referral of 21 April 2022 by the French ministries responsible for agriculture, the ecological transition and health, the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) launched a process to study potential alternatives to certain plant protection products.

The most recent INRAE study on the local breeds at risk within several species was published in 2014. This study is in the process of being updated, with a report expected in 2023. This update is expected to conclude that certain breeds no longer qualify as being at risk of extinction (due to the recent increase in numbers for example), and on the contrary classify other breeds whose numbers have recently decreased as being at risk of extinction. Such changes are relatively rare and the indicators are stable, in particular in the classification used here with only two statuses (at risk or not at risk, without quantification of risk level such as high or low).

The number of new HIV cases remained stable in 2021. However, 29% of people diagnosed in 2021 were at an advanced stage of the disease, precluding the possibility of early treatment and care. HIV disproportionately affects homosexual men and heterosexual people born abroad. The 2017-2030 National Sexual Health Strategy aims to “end the AIDS epidemic by 2030” and ensure that 95% of all people living with HIV are aware of their HIV status, that 95% of people that know they are HIV positive have access to treatment, and that 95% of people being treated have a suppressed viral load by 2030.

Suicide prevention is a major public health issue that was addressed in the French roadmap for mental health and psychiatry presented in 2018. The aim of the national strategy for suicide prevention, described in Instruction No. DGS/SP4/2022/171 of 6 July 2022, is to implement a set of integrated actions for the prevention of suicide, through a coordinated approach throughout the regions. These include the VigilanS programme to maintain contact with people who have attempted suicide, updated training in recognizing and assessing suicide risk factors and crisis intervention, measures to prevent suicide contagion, the setting up of a national suicide prevention hotline, and public awareness initiatives.

The number of people killed in road traffic accents has declined since 2015. There were 3,461 fatalities in 2015, compared to 2,944 in 2021. In 2020, this drop was even more pronounced, in large part due to travel restriction measures as part of the fight against COVID-19.

After an unprecedented drop in tobacco use between 2014 and 2019, the prevalence of daily tobacco use began to rise again in 2020. Over ten years, the prevalence rate decreased from 29.7% to 25.5% (from 2010 to 2020). Regional inequalities remain important; in 2021, the rate of daily tobacco use among people aged 18-75 varied from 22% to 29% in different regions in mainland France.

From 2010 to 2020, people in France reported an average level of life satisfaction fluctuating between 7.1 and 7.5. Life satisfaction in mainland France declined significantly for all social groups in 2021, reaching its lowest level since 2010. Changes in lifestyle and anxiety related to the pandemic led to an unprecedented fall in overall life satisfaction: the average level stood at 6.8 in 2021.

Without distinction as to sex, age or socio-professional category, the prevalence of alcohol consumption during the past year as well as the figures on daily alcohol consumption have remained stable. While alcohol consumption has greatly decreased in France since the 1980s, France continues to rank among the countries in the EU with the highest alcohol consumption. Moreover, since 2005 there has been a significant rise in at-risk alcohol use and episodes of heavy drinking, in particular among those aged 18-34. From binge drinking to “neknomination” (an online trend where people film themselves consuming alcoholic beverages), excessive consumption has become commonplace among young people. France has implemented a policy to prevent and address harmful alcohol use, in particular directed at vulnerable groups such as young people and pregnant women.

The proportion of people who reported not using the Internet during the preceding three months has fallen steadily since 2015, decreasing from 15% to 9% in 2021. The French government places importance on training for both the public and the professionals assisting them with digital public services, in order to combat digital illiteracy and the digital divide. According to INSEE (the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies), in 2019, 15% of the population did not use the Internet during the course of the year. This indicator is closely linked to the digital divide. While access to the Internet is growing, inequalities persist among older adults, individuals with lower education levels and low-income households. For example, one in two people over the age of 75 does not have Internet access at home (53%), compared to only 2% of people aged 15-29. This is also the case for 34% of individuals with low levels of education (compared to 3% of those with a university degree), and 16% of households in the lowest income group (compared to 4% of the most affluent).

Premature withdrawal from education is a reality in France, with numerous young people leaving school without earning a qualification or degree. The “Mobilized together to stop early leaving” action plan, implemented since 2014, has shown positive results. The plan offers a personalized approach to give each individual a new chance to earn a qualification and find their place in society. The programme entitled “Supporting school attendance and children’s sustainable access to education” aims to expand outreach and support for families through increased resources for school mediation. In 2020, it enabled the creation of 30 mediator positions based in 15 French departments, whose mission is to help children attend and stay in school. To fight against early leaving, the agricultural education field has launched the “Ancrochage” action research project to “anchor” young people in their studies. It gathers data on the conditions that favour academic perseverance and retention. “Anchoring” students is about getting them to stay (dropping anchor) by mobilizing and engaging them in their educational programme. It also means providing them with the social and professional tools to succeed as well as waypoints to give them direction in their learning programme (setting a course). Lastly, it aims to equip them to leave and join the workforce (raise anchor).

The “E3D” label (“Schools implementing the Education for Sustainable Development approach”) is awarded to primary and secondary schools (general, technological and vocational) as well as apprentice training centres that adopt a comprehensive sustainable development approach. These schools involve the entire educational community in their approach. Obtaining this label does not constitute the achievement of an end goal, but is rather a mark of commitment to pursuing continuous improvement. E3D responds in particular to the objectives of the agro-ecological plan for France as defined in the Future of Agriculture, Food and Forests Act (LAAAF) of 13 October 2014 and in the related action plan on “Teaching to produce differently”. For the 2022-2023 school year, France has presented the fourth edition of the Tous écoresponsables, on parie !? (“Eco-friendly together, want to bet?!”) call for projects, which seeks to encourage and recognize students’ civic engagement through the achievement of one or more challenges.

According to the Adult Education Survey (AES) carried out in 2016, in mainland France, 51% of people aged 18-64 who have left initial education participated in at least one formal or non-formal education or training programme in the previous 12 months. Few of them (2%) took part in formal education resulting in a degree or recognized qualification. This primarily concerns young adults returning to their studies after an interruption of more than a year. The annual rate of access to informal training is substantially higher: 50% for all purposes combined, and 39% for non-formal vocational training.

The number of victims of physical and/or sexual domestic violence decreased from 457,000 victims in 2017 to 373,000 in 2018. To better understand and measure the progression of this indicator, France developed a new general population victimization survey. As the first edition of the survey was carried out in 2022, the first results will be available in 2023. The most recent available data are thus administrative data: in 2021, authorities recorded 208,000 victims of violence committed by a current or former intimate partner. The number of reported cases has practically doubled since 2016, amid a context where victims feel greater freedom to come forward and improvement has been made to the assistance they receive from law enforcement services. The proportion of cases of abuse committed in the past (prior to the year they were reported) is continually rising; a quarter of the reported incidents dated back to before 2021. The proportion of these cases increased from 18% in 2016 to 28% in 2021. A comprehensive action plan to combat domestic violence was implemented in 2019 and reinforced the following years. At the end of 2022, of the 54 measures in the plan, 46 were in effect and 8 were in progress. In parallel, the legal arsenal has been strengthened, with four acts passed since 2017 to better protect victims.

The proportion of women pursuing university studies in scientific disciplines is progressively rising, reaching 49.4% in 2022, compared to 46.7% in 2016. While this indicator is on the rise, women continue to be broadly represented in certain scientific fields in higher education (such as biology, medicine and veterinary science), while other fields have only a small proportion of women (engineering, physics, etc.). This segregation reflects the weight of gender stereotypes, which have a powerful influence on the way girls and boys come to determine their academic and career paths, beginning at a very young age. This is seen in secondary school, where girls are turning their back on the digital technology field early on: girls made up 56% of students in the general programme for the second year of secondary school, and less than 30% of the computer science specialization. A gender diversity action plan aims to achieve, in all specialized programmes, technological tracks and post-baccalaureate pathways, a rate of at least 30% gender diversity within five years.

Since 2018, the gender pay gap has slightly diminished to reach 15.8% in 2020 (versus 16.7% in 2018). Gender pay disparities have been steadily shrinking over the past forty years, and have been reduced by a quarter over the past twenty years. The remaining gap is due to multiple factors: differences in the volume of work, with women far more likely than men to be employed part-time (28.1% versus 7.6% in 2021); unequal pay for the same volume of work, stemming largely from the fact that men and women are not equally represented in the same sectors and the same jobs; and lastly, women have less access to the highest paying jobs, particularly when they have children.

The number of victims of sexual violence, excluding cases of domestic violence, decreased from 230,000 victims in 2017 to 176,000 in 2018. To measure change in this indicator, France has developed a new general population victimization survey. As the first edition of the survey was carried out in 2022, the first results will be available in 2023. The most recent available data are thus administrative data: in 2021, law enforcement services recorded 72,000 cases of violence of a sexual nature, committed by someone outside of the victim’s family. In 2021, the number of these victims continued to reflect the upward trend begun in 2017, in a context of victims more freely speaking out and being heard. France is implementing numerous measures, such as the national helpline for women experiencing violence (3919). Launched in 2021, this helpline is open 24/7. A women’s rape helpline is also offered by CFCV (the Feminist Collective Against Rape), and the organization En Avant Toute(s) provides the “Comment on s’aime” chat service that is particularly geared toward young people.

This indicator is rising, according to the latest report of the French observatory on public water and sanitation services. The efficiency of drinking water networks increased slightly between 2015 and 2020.

On the rise, this indicator measures the percentage of local public utilities providing drinking water that have advisory committees, among those with a legal obligation to do so. In France, the proportion of local administrations that have put policies in place to encourage the participation of the local community in water management, among those legally required to do so, has increased. France is on track in this area.

In 2020, 31.4 billion cubic meters were withdrawn in France for major uses (production of drinking water, industrial use, agriculture, supplying navigation channels and cooling power plants; excluding water used to run hydroelectric dams). The volume of withdrawals in France fell between 2015 and 2020. France set itself even more ambitious goals, however, which explains why the trend is characterized as insufficient.

Final energy intensity (the ratio between final energy consumption and gross domestic product) increased by 2.8% in 2020: final energy consumption, adjusted for climate variability, fell sharply (-5.8%), but at a lesser rate than economic activity (-8.3%). Over the long term, however, this intensity has been decreasing almost continuously, by an average annual rate of 1.3%. This reduction is linked to France’s efforts to promote energy efficiency, in particular under the framework of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. Final energy intensity was down to 704.3 MWh/million euros in 2021, compared to 790.4 MWh/million euros in 2013.

This situation concerned 6.0% of the population in 2021, compared to 6.8% in 2020. The fight against energy poverty in France is driven by two main approaches: addressing the causes by focusing on consumption, in particular through improving the energy efficiency of housing; and offering assistance to help low-income households pay their energy bills, such as the energy cheque.

The approval rate for applications for credit facilities submitted by VSEs reached 87% in 2020, up 16 percentage points compared to 2019. While the approval rate has been steadily growing in recent years, this was the biggest increase since 2015.

Gross CO₂ emissions per unit of value added, excluding biomass and emissions from manufacturing processes, fell by 25% between 2010 and 2019. This reduction is due to the 16% decrease in emissions over the period, combined with a 13% increase in GDP in constant 2010 values.

The number of researchers (in full-time equivalent) grew by 16% from 2010 to 2019. In 2019, INSEE counted 461,891 jobs dedicated to research. Since 2002, there have been more researchers working in companies than in the public sector. In 2019, 62% of the total number of researchers worked in the private sector. Of these, 59% worked in the manufacturing industry, 38% in the services sector and 3% in the “primary, energy and construction” sector.

In 2021, €14.8 billion was allocated to public R&D, up from €14.0 billion in 2016. Space exploration and exploitation received the largest share of civilian budget allocations for R&D in 2021 (€1.7 billion) followed by energy (€1.1 billion) and health (€1.0 billion). Spending on space and health benefited from substantial additional allocations in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

In 2020, research and development expenditure as a percentage of GDP stood at 2.36%, versus 2.19% in 2019, reflecting the continuation of R&D spending despite the decline in GDP. Domestic research expenditure fell in volume by 1%, due to a decrease in government R&D spending (-1.7%) and, to a lesser extent, business spending (-0.6%).

In 2022, 86% of people in France had broadband internet at home, a figure that has been rapidly rising since 2016 (up 9.4 points). This indicator takes into account all individuals aged 15 and over living in an ordinary household. This growth can be attributed to certain government policies and subsidies, such as the financial aid granted to support access to quality fixed internet, ranging from €150 to €600. The France Très Haut Débit plan for broadband development, launched in 2013, will be continued and strengthened until 2025, and this indicator should thus continue its upward trend.

In 2021, 86.1% of the population had used the Internet in the preceding three months. This is an indicator that has seen strong growth since 2016 (+6.8 points). Compared to 2019, it was up 2.8 points. This indicator takes into account all individuals aged 15 and over living in an ordinary household. In the context of the digital transition of government services, eliminating the digital divide and digital illiteracy is of key importance. The government has put in place the “Compétence des citoyens” strategy to promote digital skills, in particular through the digital inclusion initiative using the Pix platform. This initiative is being continued in 2023.

In France, 20,000 ha of natural, agricultural and forest areas (ENAF) have been consumed annually in recent years. Land consumption has increased at a rate four times faster than population growth over the past twenty years. This issue concerns all of France, predominantly in sparsely populated areas (60%), and especially in low-density peri-urban areas. To continue reducing the rate of ENAF land consumption and land artificialization, France has set the goal of achieving “net zero land artificialization” by 2050. It has also set an intermediate objective for 2031 for reducing the rate of ENAF consumption in relation to the consumption observed over the 2011-2021 decade, prior to the enactment of Act 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021 on combating climate and strengthening resilience to its effects.

In 2016, over 5 million people, or 8.2% of the population excluding Mayotte, were living in overcrowded housing, i.e. in a household of two or more living in a dwelling with an insufficient number of rooms for the size of their household. This situation affects 3.2% of the population living in houses and 16.5% of those living in an apartment. The majority of households concerned live in large urban areas. 74% of households living in overcrowded housing lived in an urban area with over 100,000 inhabitants, of which 40% lived in the greater Paris region. Overcrowding affects only 2.3% of households in urban areas with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, but 5.3% in those with over 100,000 inhabitants. Numerous laws have been introduced over the last several years to combat housing overcrowding. In France, the housing policy mobilized €37.6 billion in 2020, equivalent to 1.6% of GDP, all public administrations combined. However, the housing costs borne by French households not only remain high (26.2% of their income in 2019) but continue to rise (20.9% of their consumer spending in 2020, up from 19.0% in 2008).

In 2017, recycling and repair provided 455,600 jobs (number of persons employed regardless of working time), representing 1.6% of total jobs in France. With 370,000 jobs, “product life extension” accounted for four fifths of the total, while “recycling” provided for 85,000 jobs. Among the sectors contributing to product life extension, automotive maintenance and repair is by far that with the most jobs, employing 168,000 people, or 45% of the total. There were 40,500 jobs in the machine repair sector, and 30,500 in computer repair. Further downstream, the sale of second-hand goods in stores accounted for 14,600 jobs, representing 1.6% of jobs in retail sale in non-specialized stores excluding food retail (also excluding fuel and pharmaceutical products). In the “recycling” category, recovering materials from waste streams provided a little over 53,000 jobs, while the rest were generated by waste collection (nearly 30,000 jobs) and shipbreaking and dismantling services (2,000 jobs).

According to SYNAPSE, the national network of players in regional industrial ecology (ITE), there were 152 active industrial and territorial ecology initiatives in August 2020, of which two thirds had been launched during the preceding three years. All regions are now implementing at least one initiative of this kind. This approach can involve two types of synergies:
• pooling synergies, in order to rationalize the use of resources, such as equipment (sharing between multiple companies to encourage use rather than ownership), services and transport (waste management, ridesharing, security, etc.), joint procurement and training.
• substitution synergies, allowing the by-products of one company to be used as inputs for another through the exchange of flows, including water and heat (reuse of wastewater, heat recovery, etc.), energy (biogas reinjection, local electricity self-consumption) and waste (recovery of by-products and effluents).

According to 2020 food waste data, reported to Eurostat for the first time in 2022 (based on the definition of food waste set out in the SDGs), food waste in France is estimated to have decreased by 10% between 2016 and 2020, down from 10 Mt in 2016 to slightly under 9 Mt in 2020 (133 kg per capita, all sectors combined). Substantial decreases were observed in the food services and retail sectors, while a significant rise was seen in the manufacturing sector (agri-food industries). These data should be interpreted with caution, both due to the imperfect nature of the data collection method, and to the year concerned by this reporting, 2020, a period in which the public health crisis severely disrupted the functioning of the food supply chain, from production to the consumer level. The Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Act of 10 February 2020 set the goal of reducing food waste by 50% in the retail and food services sectors by 2025, compared to 2015 levels, as well as reducing food waste by 50% at the consumer level and in production, processing and commercial catering by 2030, compared to 2015.

Natural risk prevention plans are an important tool to provide the most in-depth knowledge on one or more natural hazards to which a region is exposed, and to determine how they should best be taken into account in land use planning and management. The regulation of the plan approved by the local prefect allows conditions to be attached to building permits in order to reduce vulnerability to these risks, or to prohibit development in zones where the risk level is too high. This indicator is therefore representative of government action (although naturally not comprehensive).

In 2021, France had a carbon footprint of 8.9 t CO₂eq per capita. From 1995 to 2005, per capita emissions remained at a level of approximately 11 t Co₂eq, before beginning to trend downward. Taking population growth into account, the change in carbon footprint in proportion to the number of inhabitants decreased significantly (-20%) between 1995 (11.2 t Co₂eq per capita) and 2021. Emissions associated with imports accounted for 51% of the French carbon footprint. Since 1995, these emissions have risen by 20%. At the same time, domestic emissions were reduced by 27%. Of domestic emissions, 113 MT CO₂ are directly emitted by households, and 183 Mt CO₂ are tied to the domestic production of goods and services for French final demand excluding exports.

This indicator measures the number of natural events categorized as “very serious” (level 3 or above on the French severity scale), referring to events causing at least 10 fatalities or over €30 million in material damages. Naturally, it reflects the number of events affecting French territory and is not directly representative of government action in terms of risk prevention: continuous improvement in the understanding of natural hazards, in particular emerging risks related to climate change; water level monitoring and forecasting; and government funding of local prevention action programmes.

As with the preceding indicator, this indicator is not representative of government action with regard to the prevention of natural risks, but reflects the number and severity of natural disasters. Over a larger sample period, no trend is observed in the amount of insured losses, despite an increase in the portfolio of insured values. To limit the amount of insured losses, France has set up an ambitious natural risk prevention policy, based in particular on controlling urban development and strong financial support for local governments’ prevention action programmes through the fund for the prevention of major natural risks (FPRNM).

By the end of 2022, sea basin strategy documents had been adopted by all of the four mainland coastal areas (North Sea, English Channel, Atlantic and Mediterranean), whereas none had been in 2016. Overseas, strategy documents had been adopted for two sea basins and one was in the process of being adopted.

In 2022, marine protected areas (MPAs) in French territory represented 33.4% of total French marine areas. 44% of marine areas are protected in mainland France, and 32.9% in overseas France. This represents major progress, as the percentage of total French marine areas was only 3.8% in 2013.

In the Channel-North Sea marine subregion, 68% of northern fulmars analysed over the 2015-2019 period were found to have over 0.1 g of plastic debris in their stomachs, which is significantly higher than the target set by the OSPAR Convention (less than 10%). This proportion appears constant between 2015 and 2019.

In 2021, there were 155 official reports of incidents of marine pollution. In 2019, among the 237 confirmed pollution incidents, nearly three quarters (73%) concerned hydrocarbon pollution, 11% involved harmful liquid substances and 3% concerned discharges of wastewater.

Forests in mainland France are on course to meet the SDG15 target, through promotion of the sustainable management of all forest types and forest restoration. They nonetheless continue to be closely monitored, in light of the pressures they face from climate change and pest attacks. In 2019, France established its first national park devoted to forests, Forêts National Park. Covering over 199,828 ha, it has the dual aim of conserving exceptional national heritage while supporting economic, social and cultural development.

Urbanization has continued to expand in recent years to the detriment of natural and semi-natural areas. To improve the state of biodiversity, Act 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021 on combating climate disruption and strengthening resilience to its effects seeks to reduce the consumption of natural, agricultural and forest areas by 50% by 2031. By 2050, the objective is to achieve “net zero artificialization”. Local and regional authorities and cities have thus found themselves on the front line in implementing projects for responsible land use, which prevent land artificialization, and re-naturing strategies, which give a greater place to nature, water and biodiversity, in particular in the way cities are managed.

France is experiencing a major decline in biodiversity. Common bird populations, like most animal species, have been steadily shrinking. Various causes contribute to this downward trend, including:
• Climate change, with particularly high temperatures and periods of severe drought. This affects certain species that have seen their distribution range shrink and shift northward or in elevation.
• Agricultural practices, with the simplification of European agroecosystems that results in a loss of diversity in habitats. The use of pesticides that have decimated insects, an important food resource for birds, is also a major cause of the decline in bird populations. Urban development is furthermore responsible for the loss of habitats. To improve the state of biodiversity, France adopted the National Biodiversity Strategy, backed by the Government, which aims to identify the objectives and actions to be taken to reverse this trend. The Écophyto plan is also delivering results, with a 19% reduction in pesticide sales in the 2017-2019 and 2019-2021 periods, and an increase in the share of utilized agricultural area under organic farming (8.5% in 2019).