According to journalist Alice Raybaud, solitude is not merely a personal issue but a "major political issue" shaped by public policy rather than individual choices. Her book, Our Solitudes - Outwitting the Policies of Isolation, published by La Découverte, argues that modern solitude is driven by systemic factors, such as how cities are designed, the decline of community spaces, and the influence of neoliberal policies. In France, one in four people experience solitude, with 8 million individuals (about 12% of the population) reporting they have no one in their social circle. The World Health Organization has even compared the feeling of chronic loneliness to the health risks of smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. Raybaud explains that the increase in solitude is connected to the decline of public spaces, which have become less friendly to social interaction. The growing reliance on cars has limited children's freedom, reducing their average range of movement from 10 kilometers to just 300 meters around their homes. This change has limited their ability to form social bonds. Over the past twenty years, France has also lost a third of its public, cultural, and recreational facilities, worsening the problem of isolation. The decline in investment in social infrastructure and the breakdown of shared workplaces have also led to more poverty and loneliness. Raybaud points out that anti-ecological policies and those that promote isolation are part of the same neoliberal system. The trend toward individual homes with gardens and fences has encouraged nuclear family living, reducing opportunities for shared resources and community engagement. Raybaud proposes that degrowth—reducing economic growth to focus on sustainability and community—could help reduce solitude by emphasizing local solidarity and shared resources. She also argues that the weakening of our connection to nature contributes to isolation, and that reconnecting with the natural world can help alleviate this. In rural areas, she notes that being in natural environments can significantly reduce feelings of loneliness. Digitization has played a role in the "society of absence," where interactions with public services are increasingly done online. However, Raybaud argues that digital trends are speeding up an existing shift rather than being the sole cause of loneliness. The loss of public spaces has allowed capitalism to profit, with digital companies offering products that turn social connections into marketable goods, such as paid friendships or artificial emotional support. Solitude has become a topic in French political campaigns, mentioned by various parties including the Ecologists, the insoumis (those who refuse to comply with the status quo), and some on the right. Raybaud notes that while solitude is now a political issue, its full impact on health and democracy has not yet been fully understood. She warns that the extreme right often benefits from feelings of isolation, as research shows that people who feel alone are more likely to support extreme right candidates. In Western countries where the extreme right is gaining influence, the issue of solitude is becoming more significant, with these movements offering a form of community built around specific ideologies.