The school bell will ring one last time, before a long, well-deserved break. This Thursday, July 7 marks the start of summer vacation in all of France’s academies. For nearly two months, millions of French people will take the road, rail or air, heading for the sea, the countryside or even the mountains, sometimes inviting themselves into postcard settings.
If some will tighten their belts due to inflation, others will not even ask themselves the question of their beach or accommodation budget, for lack of being able to leave. Like every year, summer or not, millions of French people will not know in 2022 the experience of going on vacation (defined by the World Tourism Organization as any leisure stay comprising at least four consecutive nights away from home) .
One in four French people does not leave
Each year, approximately four out of ten French people are deprived of holidays. Thus, 37% of those questioned said they had not left at all in 2019, according to a survey by the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (Crédoc) published last June. Under the effect of the Covid-19 crisis, this figure even reached 51% in 2020 and 46% in 2021. “Historically, we are sailing around the 40% mark”summarizes the sociologist Bertrand Réau, specialist in tourism.
Compared to our European neighbors, the French are more inclined to stay at home. According to Crédoc, where 40% of them did not go on vacation in 2013, only 36% of Italians and Belgians had done the same. In the same year, 27% of Britons and 25% of Germans refrained from leaving.
Without even talking about vacations lasting several days, many French people are also excluded from simple stays with at least one night away from home. According to INSEE, 21% of the metropolitan population aged 15 and over did not take part in any of these leisure trips in 2019, i.e. 11 million people. This share reached 27% in 2020, or 14 million people.
Low-income households are more affected
The fact of going on vacation or not is very often linked to inequalities in the standard of living. Thus, in 2019, 53% of low-income households did not leave during the year, compared to only 18% of high-income households, according to Crédoc. Holidays and leisure are, “every year for almost forty years”the item of expenditure on which the French declare to restrict themselves in priority, underlines the research center.
This trend is reflected in the non-departure rate on leisure trips, for a weekend for example. In 2019, among the least well-off households, 46% of people did not leave for a single night, according to INSEE. Among the wealthiest households, this rate was only 9%.
“These inequalities have changed little in recent years, we are very far from the image of Epinal of the Popular Front and holidays for all.”
Anne Brunner, Director of Studies at the Observatory of Inequalitiesat franceinfo
These differences are often even reinforced by various levels of aid. “Company aid, such as holiday vouchers, benefits the middle classes more than the most modest, illustrates Anne Brunner. The more affluent have a wider social network, with more opportunities to be lent housing or to be accommodated in a large holiday home.
The main reason is financial
In 2014, the Crédoc questioned the French on the reason or the two main reasons for not going on vacation. Behind the budget, cited by 61% of them, appeared in particular health (22%), family (17%) and professional (16%) reasons. But the most recent data are those of INSEE, not on holidays but, more broadly, on travel. We find this same triptych of constraints.
In detail, health reasons largely relate to difficulties in moving around, due to a disability, illness or age. “The oldest people are the ones who travel the least”, observes INSEE. In 2019, 33% of metropolitan residents aged 70 and over did not travel, while this rate was less than or equal to 20% in the rest of the population.
The professional reasons cited relate mainly to an excessive workload, a new job, a job search or a need for students to study. As for family constraints, it is mostly a need to take care of a member of his family, whether it is a loved one in a situation of dependence or a young child. In another register, the need to keep pets is highlighted by 5.5% of people staying at home.
Some choose not to leave
Among the other reasons given by people not going on vacation or travelling, one is particularly notable: the deliberate choice to stay at home. One in four “non-vacationers” put this reason forward in 2014 with the Crédoc. In 2019, this was the main reason for not going on a trip given by 15.1% of those concerned. Of this total, just over half said “prefer to stay at home” and the rest claimed “not wishing to travel”, “not wanting to go alone” or “not being used to organizing a trip or vacation”.
For some, the holidays can be a more ominous than exciting prospect, with a leap into the unknown, far from the usual landmarks. “Contrary to what we tend to believe, going on vacation is not innate, it requires learning”confirms the sociologist Bertrand Réau.
“Families who have never organized a departure on vacation face logistics that can be confusing, sometimes to the point of giving up.”
Bertrand Réau, sociologistat franceinfo
And to conclude: “Unfortunately, the public authorities, and especially the State, tend to lose interest in holidays, which does not help to reduce the gaps.”