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What are the habits of the French when they wake up in the morning? On average, they get up at 7 a.m. A large majority eat breakfast, preferably sweet, and half of French people prepare in less than half an hour. Before leaving for work, more than three quarters of French people find out about the news, mainly via television.
French people who get up early
On average, the French get up early, at 7 a.m. during the week, with obviously variations depending on their lifestyle, according to the latest zOOm study from the Cetelem Observatory, on the theme of 24 hours in the lives of the French – It is 8 a.m., France wakes up. Those who have children are earlier in the morning (6:43 a.m. compared to 7:08 a.m. for others), just like the active (6:39 a.m. compared to 7:26 a.m. for the inactive). It is the 35-49 year olds who get up the earliest (6:43 a.m.) and the over 65s who wake up the latest (7:25 a.m.). Note that on weekends, the French get up later, unsurprisingly, on average at 8:16 a.m.
For the majority of French people getting up is relatively easy (72%), more so for men (78%) than for women (68%). More than one in two French people (55%) need less than half an hour to get ready, that is to say get up, eat breakfast and wash up before going out. Only 5% of those surveyed say they need more than an hour to prepare properly.
When asked what the first three things they do in the morning are, they say go to the bathroom (62%), eat breakfast (55%) and take a shower (28%). It also appears, more anecdotally, that the first action of 4% of French people is to check the notifications on their smartphone. For 3%, it’s turning on the television. Finally, 4% of respondents also admit to going back to sleep immediately after stopping their alarm ringing.
A sweet breakfast and news on TV
If breakfast may seem essential for many, you should know that 5% of French people ignore it completely, eating or drinking nothing before leaving the house. They are also 26% satisfied with a drink. In the end, 60% of French people eat sweets and 9% salty after getting up. On the other hand, breakfast is mainly eaten alone (65%), even when living with others.
Among the morning rituals is also the news. 77% of French people say they inform themselves regularly before leaving home, a proportion which ranges from 66% among 18-24 year olds to 82% for those over 65. They then favor television (42%), just ahead of radio (39%) and social networks (32%).
Ultimately, for the French, the morning is a good time to take care of themselves (78%), find out about current events (75%) and enjoy a little free time alone (74%) or with relatives (61%). For many, it is also the time to do household chores (60%), to start working (59%) or to do a little sport (46%). In the end, the morning is more synonymous with calm (74%), serenity (69%) and energy (56%), rather than fatigue (33%), stress (23%) and agitation ( 19%).