Democracy may have had its day in La République according to a new poll that shows 40 percent of French people believe that an authoritarian government could be the solution to the country’s problems. The majority of respondents also said they would agree to be governed by unelected experts and technocrats, as opposed to career politicians.

The study, commissioned by French news site Atlantico and conducted by one of the country’s major pollsters Ifop, interviewed 1,000 French adults, asking them whether or not they agreed with several sweeping statements concerning national politics.

The respondents, who were divided between supporters of France’s ruling Socialist Party, other left-wing movements, the main opposition Republican party and the far-right, resurgent National Front were asked how far they agreed with the following statement:

“Some people think that France should undergo deep reforms to avoid decline but not a single politician elected by universal majority vote has the courage to make good on these reforms; and in this respect the future direction of the country has to be entrusted to an authoritarian political power, which may even weaken the democratic methods of control [of the people] over the government.”