Reading resists, but loses ground on several fronts. The Centre national du livre (CNL), a public institution of the French Ministry of Culture, unveils the results of its 2026 reading survey, conducted with Ipsos bva, among 1,500 young people aged 7 to 19.
The first observation is that reading habits appear to remain high. 84% of young people read for school and 81% for leisure. But this stability masks a clear drop-off among older readers. Over a third of 16-19 year-olds say they don't read at all, either for school or for work.
Practice and attention fragment with age
Up to the age of 15, reading for school, study or work remains high, but declines sharply thereafter.
Leisure reading drops from 76% among 13-15 year-olds to 56% among 16-19 year-olds, with a sharper decline among boys than among girls, for whom it drops sharply after age 12, but returns to relative stability from age 16 onwards.
At the same time, attention is waning: 67% of 16-19 year-olds say they do something else while reading, compared to 21% of 7-9 year-olds.
The study "also highlights a worrying decline in reading time among unusual categories such as 7/12 year-olds, girls and young people from more privileged socio-professional backgrounds".
It also highlights a lower level of comprehension among teenagers of books read in a school context. Among 16-19 year-olds, only 54% say they have a good understanding of books read at school, compared with 75% of 7-12 year-olds.
18 minutes of reading a day versus 3 hours of screen time
The study also notes that the imbalance between reading and digital uses is confirmed. Young people devote an average of 18 minutes a day to leisure reading, compared with 3 hours to screens, excluding digital and audio books (down 10 minutes on 2024). Among 16-19 year-olds, this figure exceeds five hours.
Most of the content consumed is short videos, while screen reading remains marginal. Social networks occupy a central place, with a steady progression according to age.
Comics, manga and novels in the lead
In terms of content, comics, manga and comic books still dominate leisure reading, despite a slight decline. Novels are on the rise, especially adventure, science fiction and romance. Dark romance is gaining ground among female readers aged 16-19.
Overall, over the last 3 months, young people have read two books for school, study or work. Only 23% have read three or more books over the same period. Ten years ago, the figure was 50%.
Family-oriented reading choices
Family recommendations (44%), especially from mothers, are still decisive, along with the cover (42%), the hero (41%) and the summary (41%). Audiovisual adaptations and online content also influence choices (28%).
But also 28% choose a book after hearing about it on the Internet, and this rises to 51% for 16-19 year-olds.
Reading shared with parents is still widely appreciated by all young people who have benefited from it, but its frequency is declining. Even with the youngest children (aged 7/12), it is declining, an indicator that "of particular concern" the CNL. At the same time, the proportion of young people who say their parents don't read has risen sharply since 2016. And for Régine Hatchondo, president of the CNL, "This decline in the transmission of a taste for reading is a major challenge for the CNL, and one on which we must take collective action
Increased business competition
For the first time, relaxation tops the list of reading motivations, ahead of enjoyment and keeping busy, both of which have risen sharply (+8 pts between 2024 and 2022). But it comes up against a marked preference for other activities. While sport and social interaction are still present, screens dominate.
"Even when they're reading, the constant solicitations of social networks keep young people away from reading. It fragments their attention and profoundly alters their ability to concentrate", régine Hatchondo laments.
" It is our common duty to reaffirm the central place of reading in our lives. Reading is an essential time, a time for oneself, that must be preserved. Our 2026 study reveals a number of worrying indicators in this regard."
Faced with these developments, the CNL is highlighting its book promotion initiatives, such as the national Quart d'heure de lecture and Partir en Livre, and calling for existing schemes to be strengthened.
