Between nuclear and renewables, the French cannot choose to ensure France's future

An Ifop poll for the Hexagone observatory highlights these hesitations in a survey conducted from January 28 to 30, 2025, among a sample of 1.000 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over. Thus, for the French, renewable energies have an important role to play in the country's energy future, just like nuclear power, which retains their confidence to guarantee France's independence.

In 50 years, the tensions between the development of renewable energies and that of nuclear energy have been reflected in the opinion of the French.

Asked the same question 50 years apart, the French have profoundly changed their view of the energy they consider most promising for France's future. While in 1974 (at the start of the oil crisis), half of them (50%) cited nuclear power as the most promising energy, today only a third (32%) do so.

This sharp decline of 18 points in fifty years reverses the trend in favor of renewable energies: 46% of French people today cite a renewable energy source, compared to 20% in 1974, at a time when technologies in this field were in their infancy. The increase mainly concerns solar energy (29%, +17 pts), far ahead of wind energy (6%, +5 pts) and hydroelectric power (3%, -1 pt).

For the future, half of the French prefer renewable energies and the other half prefer nuclear power.

Half of respondents today want France to continue its energy transition by prioritizing renewable energy (51%), to the detriment of nuclear power. Conversely, a quarter (24%) prefer to maintain the current balance, i.e., energy production still largely based on nuclear power, while 25% would like to see greater emphasis on nuclear energy.

Older men for nuclear power, young women for renewables? The generational and gender divide is revealed in the choice of future energies

These overall results, however, mask very contrasting realities across population segments. Women and those under 35 mostly want France to prioritize renewable energy, while men and those aged 65 and over are more divided. Thus, the latter continue to consider nuclear power as the main energy source for the future, at 48% and 45% respectively, compared to 32% on average among French people, while women and younger people place their hopes primarily in renewable energy.

Fossil fuels “out of the game”?

Fossil fuels suffer from a very poor image when it comes to energy sovereignty. Thus, 59% of respondents say they do not trust oil to ensure France's energy independence (including 29% who "do not trust it at all"), and 68% express distrust of coal (including 43% who "do not trust it at all").

Conversely, the French have a majority of confidence in solar energy (79%, including 28% who "completely trust"), hydroelectric power (71%, including 20%), and even nuclear energy (65%, including 23%). This confidence is widespread, but spread across different sources, which sheds light on the current hesitations over the energy direction to favor for the future.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.