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The terrifying ranking of the French people's favorite personalities in 2024

undefined undefined 7 janvier 2025 undefined 08h30

undefined undefined 7 janvier 2025 undefined 09h19

The Editor

Montage : Le Bonbon © Obatala-photography / Shutterstock / Youtube / Jean Jacques Goldman / france 2 / capture d'écran

As every year, the Journal du dimanche (or JDD for friends) has just published its top 50 favorite celebrities of the French people. And one thing is for sure, whether it's about the representation of women, far-right figures, or the glorification of emptiness, it's quite terrifying.

For 36 years, at the end of each December, Ifop surveys the French on behalf of JDD to answer a burning question: who are the most important, most appreciated personalities in the country. To do this, the polling institute creates a panel of 1000 people, who rank 50 celebrities presented to them based on current events (but also their rankings from the previous year). And while we certainly see many athletes for the year 2024, thanks to the Olympics, there are also some trends that are far less joyful.


Back to the Basics

The first somewhat disheartening observation: the French don't seem to love novelty and youth. This could be the case, or maybe Ifop only surveyed a specific group of people.

songs over 70 years old, and we hope they have a tad more professionalism than that. And for good reason, at the top of this ranking, without any surprise, we find Jean-Jacques Goldman, for the 14th time since this chart was created in 1988.

It's quite an achievement considering that their only notable feat in recent years has been taking a vacation in Brittany this summer. Alongside them, you can find Eddy Mitchell (20th), who has been in the top since its inception, Florent Pagny (4th), Sophie Marceau (14th), who has been present since the very first edition at the young age of 23 back then. Or even Michel Sardou (12th), Pierre Richard (26th), Christian Clavier (23rd)... In short, it's all figures that embody innovation and modernity. 


A striking reflection of our society

There’s definitely a strong inclination towards nostalgia (both the radio station and the sentiment) and the past. Unfortunately, those aren't the only things we sense through this ranking. Indeed, we have to wait until the 11th...

the place (!) to see a woman appear in the top, and it's none other than Marine Le Pen, who makes a jump of 50 places compared to last year. She's actually the personality with the biggest rise. She's right behind her best buddy Jordan Bardella, in 10th place, and let me tell you, that's not great news.

Fortunately, despite all this gloom and doom, we’re seeing some bright spots at the beginning of the year, especially thanks to the rise of a number of Olympic champions in the rankings. Teddy Riner is making his way into the top 3, just behind Omar Sy. Léon Marchand (aka the GOAT, or at least the Greatest of the Olympics) has made a splashy entry into 5th place, along with the Lebrun brothers (31st) and Antoine Dupont (8th). And even though there’s a serious lack of women, it’s still a start.