"I would love to read more, but I do not have the time." Almost everyone has said this sentence at some point. Official data confirms it is the heart of the problem: according to the CNL/Ipsos barometer "Les Francais et la lecture" published in April 2025, 68% of French people cite lack of time to explain why they do not read more. The good news: the same barometer contains very concrete ways around this wall.
Lack of time, the number one barrier (by far)
In detail, the barriers to reading rank as follows: 68% cite lack of time, another 68% admit that other activities eat into potential reading moments, and 61% simply prefer other leisure activities, with series, games and social media leading the way. The 23 h 27 spent in front of screens every week shows the scale of that competition.
The result: the average has fallen to 18 books read per year (down from 22 in 2023), and 39% of French people, a record, say they read less and less. Yet the attachment to books remains: reading is still overwhelmingly associated with pleasure and escape in the CNL surveys. The desire is there; it is the organization that fails.
What readers who hold on do differently
The barometer offers a valuable clue: 66% of avid readers read a lot during their childhood, compared with 37% of non-readers. Reading is a habit that must be maintained, not a gift. And like any habit, it can be rebuilt in small steps, exactly what James Clear describes in Atomic Habits: make the action obvious, easy and satisfying. Our summary details his method: https://www.cobaltapp.io/fr/resumes/atomic-habits
5 practical methods to read despite a packed schedule
1. The 10-page (or 10-minute) rule. A tiny goal triggers no resistance: 10 minutes a day adds up to 60 hours of reading per year, roughly fifteen books at the average French reading pace.
2. Anchor reading to an existing moment. Morning coffee, commute, waiting line, bedtime: tying the book to a ritual already in place removes the decision to be made, the principle of habit stacking.
3. Always carry a book with you. The smartphone won because it is always in your pocket. An e-reader, a paperback or a reading app puts the book back on equal footing.
4. Switch to audio for dead time. A third of French people have already tried audiobooks, and listening is growing strongly among avid readers: driving, workouts and chores become reading time.
5. Use summaries as a gateway. This is the most underestimated lever, and the barometer confirms it in a striking way: 85% of readers say a summary influences their choice of a book, almost as much as recommendations from friends and family (87%). A summary is not a shameful shortcut: it is the top reading prescriber after word of mouth.
Cobalt's bet: 5 minutes beat zero
Cobalt exists precisely to answer this time barrier. The app distills non-fiction books into summaries of 5 to 20 minutes, in text and audio, with the key ideas highlighted to get straight to the point. You discover a book during a coffee break; if it strikes a chord, you buy it and read it in full, better equipped. Many of our users tell us they read more complete books since they started with summaries.
41 summaries are freely available at https://www.cobaltapp.io/fr/resumes, organized by topic at https://www.cobaltapp.io/fr/sujets, and the app (iOS and Android) offers a 7-day free trial: https://www.cobaltapp.io/download
The lack of time is real. But between reading everything and reading nothing, there is a workable path: start with 5 minutes. The 68% are only waiting for that.