While some countries have seen the rate of growth in Internet use tail off, the number of Internet users in France is still climbing steadily.
Nielsen Online estimated that the digital media universe in France grew 15% between January and November 2008, from 34.85 million to 40.13 million people.
The sixth edition of the “Mediascope Europe” report by the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) noted that Internet users in France are more likely than other Europeans to be online every day. Two-thirds (67%) of respondents in France told the EIAA that they used the Web daily, compared with the European average of 55%. Moreover, 29% of “internautes” in the country said they were online more than 16 hours each week.
A recent online poll by TNS Global also pointed out the vital role the Web now plays in French life.
TNS quizzed more than 27,500 adults ages 18 to 55, in 16 countries, for its “Digital World, Digital Life” report. Nine countries in Europe (including France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK) and several in Asia (China, Japan, South Korea) were surveyed, along with the US, Australia and Canada.
Internet users in France spent 28% of their leisure time online, according to the study—the same proportion as in the UK and Canada. The US posted a slightly higher average (30%), while Web users in China took the trophy, with an astonishing 44% of leisure time going to the Internet.
After a relatively slow start, the French e-commerce market is taking off in a big way too. In 2008, Germany posted the highest proportion of online buyers in Europe, with 73%, but TNS found that France was above the average, with 58% of respondents buying goods or services online.
A degree of Internet dependence is also taking hold in France, said TNS. Survey respondents were asked to rate, on a scale from 1 to 10, how much it would affect their personal lives if their Web access failed. The average impact score in France was 6.9—the highest registered in any European country.
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