What the evidence shows

The report shows that mobilizing French society around the ecological transition depends less on scientific consensus or short-term public policy than on the transformation of collective imaginaries and narratives. Despite broad agreement on the urgency of climate change, the evidence indicates that knowledge alone does not trigger systemic change; instead, deeply embedded stories, values, and representations continue to shape how individuals and institutions relate to the world, often limiting engagement with transition efforts.

It demonstrates that the dominant imaginaries — structured around competition, consumerism, and techno-solutionism — constrain the scope of possible action and hinder the emergence of alternative futures. The report identifies a diverse ecosystem of actors (“imaginacteurs”) whose influence and varying degrees of commitment to the transition create uneven but actionable leverage points across society. 

The evidence points to four strategic levers that can support systemic change. These axes are associated with specific interventions that can help shift both discourse and action.

Key Findings

• The most influential players in the realm of public perception (mainstream media, advertising, social media) are often beholden to powerful economic interests that are not naturally aligned with the broader ecological interest, creating a structural tension between influence and the willingness to act in support of the transition.

• Stories with a dystopian tone — a category that often includes environmental narratives — tend to evoke a sense of despondency or despair rather than inspire action, whereas stories that offer positive prospects tend to generate greater motivation, though this does not mean narratives should be uniformly positive (Baden; Allen & Witte).

• The concept of “narrative-washing” is identified as a major risk: appropriating elements of emerging narratives (regeneration, simplicity, resilience) for marketing or political purposes without bringing about real systemic change, which can permanently discredit organizations that are sincerely committed to these causes.

Stand-out data points

• 38%: This is the share of total revenue generated by France’s cultural and creative industries (92 billion euros in 2019, or 2.3% of the country’s GDP)—twice as much as the automotive industry.

• 31 billion euros: the amount spent on advertising and marketing in France in 2021, compared with 265 to 297 million euros spent by the top 100 lobby groups in the European Parliament between 2022 and 2023—illustrating the highly unequal balance of power between the players shaping the dominant narrative and the organizations working in the public interest.

• 30%: the percentage of influencers who have already participated in a public-interest partnership (the majority of which were unpaid).

Examples of how Understories uses this research

• Actionability The concept of “active” versus “contemplative” imagination is useful for assessing whether a message encourages the audience to become active participants rather than mere spectators of change.

• Solution focus Relevant to the “Deliver Results” pillar—a credible narrative must be backed by tangible actions, or it risks becoming mere “narrative-washing.”

• Hope Doom Balance The report cites comparative research on the effectiveness of dystopian versus positive narratives, directly informing this criterion.

• Autonomy The report highlights a significant tension between a top-down approach (“raising public awareness”) and a bottom-up approach (empowering citizens to use their imagination); the latter is more in line with the principle “AI suggests, humans decide.”

— non exhaustive.

Key quote

“Storytelling must not, like technological progress, become an end in itself” — the author emphasizes the need to link all storytelling to concrete and verifiable systemic changes.

© Published with authorisation by ADEME — all rights reserved.

Last update: 23 July 2026

—

Want to stay ahead of the curve? Join the Reading List.

Fortnightly, I’ll share short explainers, key findings, and data points from selected reports as they go live, plus exclusive content.