A Yougov poll for Linternaute reveals that the French plan to spend less this year for the 2022 end-of-year celebrations and that many of them are still worried about the Covid-19 epidemic.
The French are approaching these end-of-year celebrations very differently from last year, with a context of strong inflation and a resurgence of the Covid-19 epidemic which weighs heavily on family reunions. The poll YouGov carried out for Linternaute gives several concrete elements on the way in which the French apprehend Christmas and the festivities of the last week of the year: many of them will reduce their budget for gifts and festive meals, many also remain concerned by the evolution of the Covid-19 epidemic.
2023, a better year than 2022?
Asked about their year 2022, the French are quite divided: we are far from an annus horribilis, even if it does not seem that the “happy days” have really returned. Thus 33% of respondents say they had a good year (4% a very good year, 29% rather a good year), 43% say they had “neither a good nor a bad year”, 24% say they had a bad year (8% a very bad year, 16% a rather bad year).
Asked about 2023, again, it is not really the optimism that emerges from the answers of the French. 32% believe 2023 will be “better” for them than 2022, but 22% believe they will have a worse year. 46% imagine that the coming year will be substantially identical to the one that is ending.
The end-of-year celebrations are awaited with a smile by 41% of French people, who say they are “rejoicing at the arrival” of Christmas and New Year’s Day celebrations. 31% of respondents answer the opposite, 28% say they are completely indifferent to this period and have no enthusiasm for the last weeks of 2022.
Financial sacrifices for the holiday season
42% of French people indicate in the YouGov survey that they will spend less money than last year on Christmas presents, 11% even indicate that they will not make any present. 41% plan to spend “as much as last year” and only 6% of French people plan to spend more than in 2022.
What budget do the French devote to their Christmas gifts exactly? 23% have planned a budget of less than 150 euros, 34% between 151 and 300 euros, 22% between 301 and 500 euros, 12% more than 500 euros. 10% don’t know how much they will spend in total. Note that 51% of French people say they are “ready to buy second-hand gifts for Christmas this year”.
Fewer light decorations
Another lesson from the YouGov survey: 41% of French people plan to spend less money this year than last year for end-of-year holiday meals, 40% plan to devote a similar budget, 7% plan to spend more. It should also be noted that “faced with the energy crisis”, 49% of French people intend to “reduce the use of Christmas decorations requiring a power supply”.
The Covid still present in the minds
The coronavirus epidemic, which has experienced a significant upsurge since mid-November, remains a cause for concern for the French. 25% of respondents indicate that given the increased circulation of Covid-19, they “will avoid large gatherings” such as Christmas markets and trips to shopping centers. 39% also indicate that they will take “special precautions” during family or friend reunions, such as “wearing a mask or reducing the number of guests”, 43%, on the other hand, declare that they are not thinking of taking any and 9 % are not planning a reunion. It should also be noted that 73% of French people plan to carry out a screening test for Covid-19 if they experience symptoms such as fever, cough or headache.
The survey was carried out on 1,006 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over. The survey was carried out online, on the YouGov France proprietary panel from December 5 to 6, 2022.