France: Alarming number of French people expressed their intention to leave the country in 2025

Amid the troubled political climate in France, the population's confidence in its institutions continues to deteriorate, and more and more citizens are contemplating leaving the country, a percentage that has more than doubled in the past year.

A recent Gallup poll revealed that, after a period of relative stability, confidence in the national government dropped 13 points to stand at to stand at 29% in 2025, and perceptions of the integrity of elections fell by the same proportion to 51%. The credibility of the judicial system fell back 9 points to 50%, while trust in financial institutions dropped 8 points to 42%, reversing years of gains. According to the study, no other country in the European Union experienced such a steep average drop in 2025 in these four areas as France.

The desire to leave the country is strongly related to distrust in institutions. According to the Gallup poll, people who trust only one or none of the institutions assessed are much more likely to say they would move permanently to another country if they could (49%), compared with those who show higher levels of institutional trust.

Desire to emigrate more than doubles

Gallup says that amid growing domestic instability, more and more people want to leave France. The poll found that, in 2025, 27% of adults said they would like to settle permanently in another country if they had the opportunity, more than double the 11% recorded the previous year.

Among French people who would like to live in another country, the preferred destinations are Canada with 15%, Switzerland with 8% and, to a lesser extent, Spain and Algeria, both with 6%.

Macron's popularity plummets

Separately, Gallup notes that approval of French President Emmanuel Macron also suffered last year, falling to an all-time low of 28%. This figure is less than half the level recorded during his first year as president, when it reached 61% in 2017.

However, the poll reveals that despite the sharp drop, his rating is still slightly higher than that of his predecessor, François Hollande, who ended his term with a 19% approval rating.

Corruption at an all-time high

Gallup revealed that, last year, 68% of French people said corruption is widely present in the government, 13 points higher than the previous year, reaching levels similar to the 2015 highs.

According to the poll, the perception of corruption in the business sector also increased to 53%. Although to a lesser extent than that recorded within the government, this suggests that, for citizens, corruption in France is now perceived as a more political phenomenon and more widespread than in previous years.

Poor perception of the economy

Pessimism about the economy, meanwhile, remains entrenched in the eurozone's second-largest economy. The survey found that in 2025, about one in five French adults (21%) said their local economy is getting better, while 67% said it is getting worse, at the same level as in 2024.

According to Gallup, over the past decade, France has been one of the most pessimistic countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) about the state of its economy. Since 2015, only Greece has shown a higher average level of pessimism than France among the organization's countries.

France has one of the largest deficits in the developed world, and its public spending as a percentage of GDP exceeds that of any other advanced economy. Over the past decade, productivity has also fallen sharply, reducing tax revenues and further widening the deficit.

According to Gallup, these economic difficulties have fueled recent political instability, as repeated failures to pass spending legislation have contributed to frequent turnover of prime ministers.