The rural world first refers to the socio-economic difficulties of all French people, whereas the rural people themselves associate it as a priority with the quality of life.
If, for 46% of the French respondents, rurality is primarily synonymous with “socio-economic difficulties and nuisances”, it evokes on the contrary well-being and “quality of life” for 62% of rural , according to a survey of the Ifop broadcast Tuesday.
A difference in perception highlighted by this study conducted for the association Families Rural in partnership with Franceinfo .
[📈Enquiry @FamillesRurales @IfopOpinion ] “Rural territories: perception and realities of life” Find @DMarmier to discover this radioscopy of the rural world tomorrow at 6:20 am in the Morning of @franceinfo : a world #rural or # ruralities ? ➡️ https://t.co/4U3qsMN49d ]
– Rural Families (@FamiliesRural) October 8, 2018
But 59% of French people consider the rural world “in decline”
Thus, while two-thirds of French people (66%) are satisfied with their position in society, this is the case for three-quarters of rural dwellers (74%). Conversely, 59% of French people consider the rural world “in decline”, against only 43% of rural people.
For rural people as the “general public”, rural France arrives however at the head of the territories “neglected”, before “France of the suburbs” and that of the small and medium cities.
In detail, 57% of rural people believe “not benefit from the action of public authorities”, against 36% of all French. And 56% say they are pessimistic for their future, against 49% of all French.
For the “general public”, the lack of public services (70%), job availability (62%) and transport (54%) are the main obstacles to the installation of new inhabitants in rural areas.
“Reconnect all territories”
Rural families, which claims 2200 local associations, identifies various issues to enhance the attractiveness of the rural world, including the fight against medical desertification, the disappearance of local shops or the decline in public transport supply.
“Putting digital technology at the service of the population”, with teleworking or telemedicine, would allow it to “reconnect all territories”.
The survey conducted online from June 8 to 11 with 1012 people aged 18 and over, and from June 6 to 11 with 1501 people representative of the rural population, according to the quota method.
