More than four in ten people in France would back a lifetime limit of four flights per person, according to a survey published this week by the Consumer Science and Analytics (CSA) Institute.
The market research and opinion polling firm found that 41 per cent of those surveyed in France are supportive of a proposal from engineer Jean-Marc Jancovici to ban people from taking more than four aeroplane trips during their entire lifetime.
The survey, which took a representative sample of 1,010 French people aged 18 and above, found that support for the draconian measure was even higher among those under the age of 35, with 48 per cent supporting the idea and rising to 59 per cent for 18 to 24-year-olds.
The CSA institute also found that 64 per cent of French people were in favour of reducing their own use of air travel over the medium term to help the climate, with support jumping to 72 per cent for those under 35.
Responding to the findings, Danish climate expert Bjørn Lomborg said that the survey demonstrated “how crazy climate alarmism has” become.
“Let’s just say this once more Climate is a problem, not end-of-world. It will not be solved by making people worse off but through innovation,” Lomborg added.
The French government of Emmanuel Macron has been one of the most active in the world in trying to reduce the use of aeroplanes.
In May, the government issued a diktat banning domestic air travel for journeys that could be travelled by train in under two-and-a-half hours.
Paris also urged EU nations this month to impose a minimum price on flights within Europe to crack down on airlines from offering budget options in a supposed bid to reduce the industry’s emissions by pricing out poorer people from being able to travel by air.
There has been some pushback against the idea, with the Airlines for Europe association, which represents around 70 per cent of all European air traffic, saying that it would violate EU market laws which permit airlines to set their own prices.