Whatever the tastes, the national cuisine remains one of the best in the world, confirms a Cluster 17 survey for “Le Point”.
By Guillaume Mercier
© Joel Saget/AFP
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IAre culinary tastes a reflection of political ideals? This is what emerges from a Cluster 17 survey for Point having tested the attachment of the French to their gastronomy. For 86% of respondents, French cuisine is one of the two best in the world.
It is the first for 69% of those questioned and the second for 17% of them, thus well ahead of its competitor, Italian cuisine. However, culinary tastes differ according to political ideals and place of residence.
Seafood platter (16%), beef bourguignon, duck breast (11%) and chicken fries are thus the four favorite dishes of the French, just ahead of couscous. Raclette (5%), mussels and chips or cassoulet also reap more favors than paella or pizza (4% each) but with socio-economic variations.
Age, an important factor
“In the big cities, the younger generations, more to the left, have been more accustomed than their elders to a cultural mix, including on the culinary level, which makes them more sensitive to the cuisines of the world”, analyzes Stéphane Fournier, who carried out the study for Cluster 17. Because age is also an important factor in the perception of gastronomy.
Young people are less chauvinistic about the plate than their elders. Less than half (48%) of 18-24 year olds place French cuisine first, compared to 75% of 50-64 year olds, the age category that appreciates it the most. Next, young people appreciate Italian cuisine (22%) followed by Japanese cuisine (12%).
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A phenomenon linked to globalization according to Stéphane Fournier: “Foreign cuisines are much more accessible today than they were thirty years ago. Young people show a strong taste for “restaurants offering foreign specialties”.
Rejection of policies, except Lassalle and Ruffin
It should also be noted that, regardless of age and political orientation, fast food and meals ordered online via platforms such as UberEats or Deliveroo never garner more than 1% affinity, demonstrating the character ultra-minority and metropolitan of this practice.
Finally, when French people are asked which political figure they would like to share a dinner with, by submitting a list of names, a third (34%) replied “none” of the people proposed. Very far behind, at 9%, the personality with whom the French respondents say they want to share a meal is Jean Lassalle, followed by François Ruffin (8%).
“This illustrates the latent degagism and the rejection of the political class that we feel in France”, analyzes Stéphane Fournier. For the pollster, “Jean Lassalle and François Ruffin are two political figures who stand out, and convey an image of sympathetic men, close to the citizens”. The meal therefore remains a moment that the French want to spend in good company.