The 2030 Agenda adopted in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly is broken down into 17 goals and 169 targets. It covers the three traditional dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental. It led to the development of a set of monitoring indicators known as the Sustainable Development Indicators (SDI), of which there are 232. This dashboard approach is within the spirit of the recommendations made by the Stiglitz Commission [2009] on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. The SDIs now constitute a reference framework for monitoring national policies. This framework is, however, flexible and adaptable to the context of the various countries or regions across the world. Both France and the European Union (EU) have therefore developed their own dashboards, derived from the global SDIs, though more restricted, each involving around a hundred indicators.

This report is based on the EU’s dashboard indicators and examines France’s position in comparison with other Member States, both in overall terms and more specifically, on an indicator-by-indicator basis. Generally speaking, France sits around mid-table within the EU. Poverty and monetary inequality in the country are relatively low. Although life expectancy is high, this does not translate into the perception of better health and the country remains a poor performer in terms of road deaths. In the field of education, France is above the European average except when it comes to reducing underachievement among 15-year olds. Access to employment is still difficult, particularly for the younger generations. In terms of environmental progress, France has had mixed results: while its energy consumption has decreased, as is the case for the EU as a whole, it is struggling to meet some of its objectives, for example with regard to renewable energy. Its use of nuclear energy explains its good performance in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. France is performing at around the European average with regard to air pollution caused by fine particulates and the development of organic farming; artificial land coverper capita in the country is higher than elsewhere on the continent.

Finally, the aim of the SDIs and EU dashboard is to quantify the quality of the institutions and their social link. The low homicide rate does not prevent a high prevalence of feelings of insecurity. The confidence of the French people in the European institutions is fairly low.