A few weeks ago as I was exploring the public opinion research from IFOP, one of the studies that caught my attention was an examination from last December of public perceptions of the ensemble d’initiatives connues sous le terme du Grand Paris (group of initiatives known as the Great / the Big Paris).

Le Grand Paris / The “Great Paris”

First announced in 2007, le Grand Paris project – whose primary mission is to ensure that Paris can “asseoir son statut de «ville-monde»” … tout en préservant “son histoire et son patrimoine” (ensure its place as global city… while preserving its history and culture) – will run through at least 2030 and include enhanced regional transportation options to connect more of the surrounding region to Paris, development plans to strengthen housing and development in the Île-de-France region, and administrative improvements designed to simplify doing business in and around the city.

Qu’en pensent les Français?* / What do the French think (about the plans)?

So how is this major initiative being viewed by les Franciliens (term for the inhabitants of the region of Île-de-France / the region including Paris in the near cities and towns shown in red in this map from Wikipedia.fr.)? IFOP’s study shows that there is overall strong support for the project, but also that many individuals have concerns about possible negative impacts of the plan.

* Notice the use of the French pronoun ‘en‘. It is used here to represent the entire concept of le Grand Paris outlined in the previous paragraphs. Instead of saying “Que pensent les Français du project le Grand Paris? the pronoun ‘en‘ lets me just say “Qu’en pensent les Français?”

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