The finding is unanimous: 89% of French people consider that it is difficult to rent accommodation and 92% that it is difficult to access property. If the French agree that it has never been so complicated to find housing, the latest survey by the Cluster 17 Institute for Le Point reveals significant divisions between right-wing and left-wing voters. whether it’s about appointing someone responsible or finding solutions…
The voters of Jean-Luc Mélenchon are in fact more likely to point the finger at the wealthiest French people who invest in second homes (22%, or twice as much as the average), while the voters of Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour prefer to accuse the State (40%).
This policy, which has nevertheless demonstrated its ineffectiveness in the places where it has been applied – such as London or San Francisco – is despite everything considered by 23% of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s voters as a priority measure. Other measures, often mentioned by public leaders such as the idea of ??an energy renovation plan, or the construction of more social housing, are not considered priority measures by the French.
A very large majority of people surveyed looking for accommodation have difficulty finding one. A sign of this difficulty: only 25% of tenants plan to buy a home in the next two years. This lack of projection also transcends partisan and social boundaries. Everyone, or almost everyone, agrees that it is difficult to find housing in France, owners and tenants alike.
Those who want to become homeowners report two main obstacles: prices (54%) and borrowing rates (48%) are too high. Two thirds of respondents already own their home, a proportion which varies greatly depending on the candidate supported in the 2022 presidential election. We find the largest proportion of owners among the voters of Valérie Pécresse (83%) and the most low among Jean-Luc Mélenchon voters (54%).
Despite the consensus on the difficulties of finding housing, voters on the right and left do not find themselves around a consensual solution… A sign that the left and the right have not disappeared in the value systems of the French.
*Kevin Brookes is a teacher-researcher in political science.
