EXCLUSIVE
Bars, beaches, unlimited travel… since the start of the second wave of deconfinement on Tuesday, the French seem to have found a semblance of normal life. As a result, optimism is slowly returning among the population, while the coronavirus epidemic has killed nearly 30,000 people in our country. This is the conclusion of the latest wave of a BVA survey for Europe 1 and Orange, published Thursday evening.
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For the first time since the implementation of this wave, Thursday, March 19, two days after confinement, the proportion of French people who believe that, in this coronavirus crisis, "the worst is behind us" (28%, or an increase of 10 points since May 18) is greater than the proportion of people who think that "the worst is ahead" (25%, a decrease of 14 points since the penultimate wave). The share of respondents who think that the situation will remain stable remains the largest (36%, +1 point), a sign that uncertainty remains high regarding the future.
The second wave is disappearing in the minds of the respondents
The corollary of this partly recovered optimism is to be observed in terms of the morale of the French, which has never been so high since the start of the crisis. Asked about the rating they would give to their morale, 0 being synonymous with total depression and 10 for real happiness, the respondents answered on average 6.8, a notable increase of two tenths of a point for two weeks. As an indication, it stood at 6.5 at the time of deconfinement, May 11.
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This optimism also translates into confidence in the country's ability to return to normal life: 60% of French people think that we will return to normal life by the end of 2020 (+4 points for a week) and now , only 13% believe that there will be no return to normal (-5 points in a week).
Fear of catching the virus is also declining, with 71% of respondents still afraid of falling ill (-6 points in two weeks). The anticipation of a second wave of the epidemic which would lead to a new containment confirms its decline (56%, a drop of 3 points in one week and 15 points in 15 days).
Confidence that goes back
This drop in fear is no doubt explained by the fact that French people are rather reassured today: that they go to see their family (77%), that they walk on the street (75%), that they see friends (65%) or even go to parks (62% and even 65% in Ile-de-France), they mostly say they feel safe, according to this survey.
Finally, among those interviewed by BVA, all the confidence indicators are up compared to last week: confidence in the way the government is managing the crisis (39%, +8 points), in the financial situation of their focus (57%, +3 points), in the quality of information in the media (40%, +2 points), or in the economic situation of France (19%, +2 points), despite bad news on the front of jobs, growth or deficits.