According to a new survey by the IFOP institute, French people are much more worried about the health risk linked to the Covid-19 epidemic than about the economic threat caused by the spread of the virus.

On August 16, a new poll by the IFOP institute published in Le Journal du Dimanche shows that the French are much more worried about the health risk linked to the coronavirus than about the economic impact of the spread of the disease in France.

They are 52% to trust the government to “help companies facing difficulties because of the coronavirus” and 41% to trust it to “deal effectively” with the spread of the virus. These figures have virtually remained unchanged since the last survey was carried out at the end of May.

“The health risk,” is what worries the French (53%) the most, ahead of “the economic risk and especially the consequences on employment.” Then comes “the threat to civil liberties with the restrictions imposed to fight the epidemic (compulsory wearing of masks, restriction of access to certain places),” at 18%.

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Nevertheless, 87% of the French people surveyed said they were worried about the economic consequences of the health crisis resulting from the spread of the coronavirus.

The virus is still spreading in France. In recent days, several thousand fresh cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed, according to figures from the French Public Health Agency. This is a record since the end of the confinement last May.

To avoid a new crisis as much as possible, the government is tightening health regulations. For instance, it is now compulsory to wear masks outside and also within companies.

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New rules should soon be announced for a more serene return to school, as the government wishes to avoid a new lockdown by all means. “Everything we are doing is to avoid [a new] confinement,” said Olivier Véran, the Minister of Health.

The French population is more and more supportive of the generalised wearing of masks to be “masked” but to remain “free”.

If a total or partial new lockdown of the French population remains purely speculative for the moment, the Scientific Council considers “highly probable that we will observe a second epidemic wave next autumn or winter”.