Summer 2026 marks a turning point in the perception of ecoanxiety in France

Laure, 28, knew the IPCC alerts and saw clearly that “the summer weather was no longer that of my childhood, where 30°C was already exceptional”. However, she did not consider herself “ecoanxious”. But the summer of 2026 has the effect of an electric shock. The “three episodes of heatwaves at stratospheric temperatures”, and even more so the fires in Gironde, where her parents live, left a deep mark on her. “I realized that what we have been hearing for years is true. I realize that we are going to live in a world that we have never known before. » During her vacation, she exchanged with her friends: “Many who were in denial had something click. »

According to a study by Ademe and the Ecoanxiety Observatory (Obseca), in 2025, 10.5 million French people said they were ecoanxious. But after a summer marked by repeated heatwaves and devastating forest fires, more and more people are feeling worried...