The month of December marks the time for taking stock. Spotify ranks the key music and artists of 2023 in France, YouTube does the same for its videos and the SNCF offers its users a recap of their journeys over the year. It’s now Google Search’s turn to take part in the exercise. This Monday, the search engine reveals the most popular query trends in France over the last twelve months. The analysis takes into account the increase in interest in a topic from one year to the next. And many of them have aroused the curiosity of the French.
Starting with artificial intelligence, which is becoming one of the top interests of the French. With the opening to the general public of the ChatGPT conversational robot in November 2022, Internet users have questioned this technology. Specifically on “How to use ChatGPT”. Many of them also looked to see if there was an “AI to create images”, an “AI to reformulate a text” or even an “AI to make a PowerPoint”.
Besides ChatGPT, the star of the year is rugby. With the Rugby World Cup, which took place in France from September 8 to October 28, the French sought to understand the inner workings of sport. For example, they asked themselves “How long does a rugby match last?” Several matches appear in the query ranking, such as the “France-South Africa” and “France-New Zealand” matches.
The captain of the XV of France, “Antoine Dupont”, also rises to second place among the most sought-after public figures, ahead of Brigitte Bardot. The French actress is third in this ranking, with searches peaking after the broadcast of a series about her life on France 2 and Netflix. The most searched for personality is none other than the footballer “Kylian Mbappe”, who experienced the strongest increase in searches this year.
In the ranking of these well-known personalities, the year 2023 was marked by disappearances. Among those who most affected the French, is the actress, director and singer “Jane Birkin”, who died on July 16. But also the interpreter of the legendary character of Chandler Bing in the series Friends, the actor “Matthew Perry”, died on November 3. And “Marwan Berreni”, the interpreter of Abdel Fedala in the French series Plus Belle la Vie, found dead on October 12 in Corcelles-en-Beaujolais in the Rhône.
On a daily basis, it is above all purchasing power that remains at the heart of the French’s concerns. With questions such as “Why is electricity increasing?”, “How to use the energy check?” or even “How to apply for the fuel bonus?”.
However, a new request was added in the middle of summer. These are questions about bed bugs. Due to the psychosis caused by their presence in many public places in July and August. So, these little pests have given rise to questions like “How do you know if you have bedbugs” or “How to get rid of bedbugs”.
The interests of the French have also focused on more unusual subjects. Many people have wondered about the new hair color of football player Antoine Griezmann with the query “Why does Griezmann have pink hair?”. But also on “What is bubble tea?”. A tea-based drink originating from Taiwan and which is enjoying some success in France.
The French also followed the news carefully. And more particularly international news. Behind the word “ChatGPT”, the most searched terms are “Israel Hamas War”. If this request began at the end of the year, in reaction to the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, it is one of the strongest increases of the year 2023.
The French also sought to better understand government actions. With searches like: “motion of censure” or “motion of censure definition”, “what is 49.3”, “What is state of emergency?”. Pension reform appears under the question “October 13 strike why?”, with a peak on this day of national mobilization.
Finally, “Pierre Palmade”’s car accident ranks among the top searches related to current events. On February 10, the comedian and actor collided with another vehicle near Villiers-en-Bière. The collision left three people in the same family seriously injured. The highly publicized affair led to further questions about the activities of Pierre Palmade. So, people searched for “What is Chemsex?” This sexual practice under drugs is at the top of the ranking of questions that begin with “what is it”.
