Index Commentary

France drops by two places in the Index with a very high performance in social equity, environmental impact mitigation and a steady, although slightly less strong position in energy security. Environmental performance is driven by good quality of air and water and low emissions intensity on a per capita basis and in electricity and heat generation. Energy intensity per capita remains on a relatively high level. While France performs well in all social equity indicators, its energy security score is mainly supported by highly diversified electricity production and a continuous decrease in energy consumption. France’s slight drop from rank seven to nine in the Index is driven by a substantial decrease in its economic performance due to less macroeconomic stability as well as a small decrease in political strength.