--- description: Just 28% of French and Italian citizens have faith in their nation's system, according to new research by public relations firm Edelman. title: People Really Don’t Trust France and Italy, New Survey Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb049139699294fa1/6988b5b1ab6d7741fe6ac7b9/gettyimages-631531114.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # People Really Don’t Trust France and Italy, a New Survey Says by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 17, 2017 12:56 PM CUT  French President Francois Hollande gives a speech after visiting the renovated Bibliotheque nationale De France (BnF) at Salle Labrouste on rue de Richelieu site on January 11, 2017 in Paris, France. French President Francois Hollande gives a speech after visiting the renovated Bibliotheque nationale De France (BnF) at Salle Labrouste on rue de Richelieu site on January 11, 2017 in Paris, France.Jean Catuffe—Getty Images by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 17, 2017 12:56 PM CUT [France](http://time.com/4568280/paris-attack-france-terrorism-isis-muslims/ "undefined") and [Italy](http://time.com/4584639/italy-referendum-2016-matteo-renzi/ "undefined") are the countries least trusted by their people, as just 28% of French and Italian citizens have faith in their nation’s system, according to [new research](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2017-edelman-trust-barometer-reveals-global-implosion-of-trust-300391117.html "undefined") by public relations firm Edelman. According to the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer, 72% of the French and Italian citizens who participated in the study said they had lost faith in the system, followed by Mexico, South Africa and Spain, all at 67%. The annual study found that 2016 saw the largest-ever drop in trust across the institutions of government, business, media and NGOs. Trust in media (43%) fell to all-time lows in 17 countries, while trust levels in government (41%) dropped in 14 markets; government is the least trusted institution in half of the 28 countries that were surveyed. The credibility of leaders also fell, as CEO credibility dropped to an all-time low of 37%, with declines in every country studied. More than half (53%) of the study’s respondents believe the current overall system has failed them, while only 15% believe it is working. Approximately one-third are uncertain. “The implications of the global trust crisis are deep and wide-ranging,” said Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman. “It began with the Great Recession of 2008, but like the second and third waves of a tsunami, globalization and technological change have further weakened people’s trust in global institutions. The consequence is virulent populism and nationalism as the mass population has taken control away from the elites.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4636105/edelman-trust-barometer-france-italy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4636105/edelman-trust-barometer-france-italy/"},"headline":"People Really Don’t Trust France and Italy, a New Survey Says","datePublished":"2017-01-17T12:56:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:37:01.851Z","description":"The study found the largest-ever drop in trust across the institutions of government, business, media and NGOs","url":"https://time.com/4636105/edelman-trust-barometer-france-italy/","keywords":["France","Italy","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb049139699294fa1/6988b5b1ab6d7741fe6ac7b9/gettyimages-631531114.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb049139699294fa1/6988b5b1ab6d7741fe6ac7b9/gettyimages-631531114.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"French President Francois Hollande Inaugurates La Bibliotheque Nationale De France -BNF- After Its Renovation In Paris","caption":"French President Francois Hollande Inaugurates La Bibliotheque Nationale De France -BNF- After Its Renovation In Paris","creditText":"Jean Catuffe—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4636105/edelman-trust-barometer-france-italy/","name":"People Really Don’t Trust France and Italy, a New Survey Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Francois Hollande Spends Small Fortune on Haircuts","description":"French President Francois Hollande spends the equivalent of $11,000 a month on his hair.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/qjeDeWQT/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-07-14T15:21:29.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qjeDeWQT.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4636105/edelman-trust-barometer-france-italy/","duration":"PT47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4636105/edelman-trust-barometer-france-italy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```