Every year, Google publishes the most searched queries by users throughout the year. The 2024 edition perfectly reflects the societal issues that hit the country throughout the year. From abortion to wokism and the economy, the French were rather curious. While keeping their eternal existential and unusual questions. The French Touch.
“What is abortion?”
Not surprisingly, the question “What is abortion” is at the top of searches starting with “What is it”. A massive interest which coincides with the historic inclusion of this right in the French Constitution on March 8, 2024. This constitutionalization made France the first country in the world to explicitly mention abortion in its fundamental text.
The figures speak for themselves: in 2022, no fewer than 232,000 abortions were performed in France, including 216,000 in mainland France. Even more revealing, the ratio of abortions to births has reached a record level, approaching one abortion for every three births in 2022. A phenomenon which can be explained in particular by the deterioration of the socio-economic context, pushing many women to postpone their maternity project.
From technical concerns to existential questions
PFAS, these famous “eternal pollutants” which are found in particular in bottled water, rise to second place in research. The French also looked at hot topics, such as the definition of a intifada or the details of the Egalim law (which aims to better protect manufacturers in their commercial relations with large retailers). The functioning of the Frontex agency, guardian of European borders, has also raised many questions.
More surprisingly, “wokism” has carved out a special place for itself in this list, reaching sixth position. A term which crystallizes societal debates and whose very definition is the subject of heated discussions in the public space.
From the intimate to the political
Personal questions were not left out. The prize for originality undoubtedly goes to research “Why doesn’t he watch my stories anymore”. New proof of love anxieties in the age of social networks. Behind its unusual appearance, this question testifies to the new relational codes of our time.
Mpox (monkey pox), which reappeared in spring 2024, has also been the subject of much research. Health issues therefore remain at the heart of the concerns of the French, a few years after the Covid crisis which still seems to haunt people’s minds.
- IVG dominates “What is it” searches on Google in 2024, the year of its historic constitutionalization
- Environmental (PFAS) and societal (wokism) issues occupy an important place in the concerns of the French
- Personal and health questions complete this panorama of research
