One of her most sparsely produced albums, La question combines Hardy's sensual vocals with bossa nova-tinged guitar playing, touches of bass and subtle string arrangements.

While the album was not well received by French audiences and radio stations upon release, it earned the acclaim of critics and came to be viewed as a turning point in Hardy's career, in which she moved toward a less commercial and more mature style.

During the decade, she "found herself at the very forefront of the French music scene", and became "France's most exportable female singing star", recording in various languages, appearing in several movies, touring throughout Europe, and gaining admiration from musicians such as Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger.

Périer - who has been described as "a veritable Pygmalion for the young singer" - helped her to develop a more modern personal style and persuaded her to begin modelling; Hardy soon became a popular fashion icon as well.

[3] As the yé-yé era drew to a close in the late 1960s, Hardy sought to reinvent herself, beginning by casting off the fashionable girl next door image that Périer had created for her.

[2][4] In the albums that immediately preceded La question, Hardy had begun to work with more accomplished songwriters such as Leonard Cohen,[5] Serge Gainsbourg,[3] and Patrick Modiano.

"[10] After attending the Festival Internacional da Canção in Rio de Janeiro – and having come into contact with the music of Brazil – Hardy decided to work with Tuca.

[2] La question is one of Hardy's "most sparsely produced efforts," the result of Tuca's "characteristically delicate and uncluttered arrangements" that accompany the singer with an acoustic guitar, touches of bass, and subtle orchestration.

[8] Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe, writing for the Red Bull Music Academy, described the album as "a marvellous dialogue between French pop and Brazilian saudade".

[21] Writing for PopMatters, Matt James felt that with La question - and albums Soleil (1970) and If You Listen (1972) - Hardy "smartly [reinvented] herself as an elusive folk rock jazz chanteuse.

[5][17][23] The singer's vocals have been called "sultry" and "breathy", at times "[substituting] melodic humming in the place of singing, wordlessly articulating the emotional essence of the song.

[24] Regarding the track, 50thirdand3rd considered that: "The intensity of the string arrangement reflects both the inner tension and desire, the bass echoes the throbbing beat of a heart in heat, but what really makes this song is Françoise Hardy's wordless vocalizations.

Her phrasing is much more flexible than in her previous pop songs, as she "[elongates] and [spaces] syllables behind and ahead of the beat", while Tuca's offbeat guitar is "syncopated to the natural flow of emotion instead of paying strict attention to the bars or the time signature.

[8] Written by Hardy, the lyrics of "Mer" ("Sea") concern suicide in a gentle manner, as she intones: "I would love to fall asleep in the sea—magical, original, in its essential rhythm.

[25] "Bâti mon nid" ("Built My Nest") has been described as "a lively Brazilian jazz piece featuring a female-male vocal duet, an energetic double bass line and wonderful syncopation.

Author Richie Unterberger felt that "Hardy curbs the fussiest excesses of the original, and adds some pretty enchanting cloud-drifting scat vocals through most of the arrangement.

[31] Due to its sensuality – and consequent associations with the erotic novel Histoire d'O – the track "Chanson d'O" was threatened with prohibition in Spain, prompting an irritated Hardy to state: "How could I do porn?

[8][42] According to Radio France Internationale, the singer "appeared to be completely unperturbed by poor album sales, preferring to find an audience who respected her true self rather than millions of adoring fans who were seduced by a superficial image.

Despite its poor commercial performance upon release, La question has generated a dedicated cult following over the years,[8][19][45] remaining a classic among her fans for its "lyrical sensuality and sophisticated arrangements.

"[22] Indie Hoy described it in 2021 as a "cult record still unfairly underrated by Anglo-centric music critics and undoubtedly a culminating work of French pop of all time.

"[45] Reissuing the album in 2016, EMI stated: "La question has become a virtual calling-card for Hardy and has proven to be extremely influential on the modern French pop scene."

"[51] Writers agree that the album represents an important turning point in Hardy's career, moving towards a more mature style and abandoning her more commercial efforts of her yé-yé period.

Or Pierre Dumayet (among others), who wanted to pinch us over our ignorance—we often came from relatively poor working classes, while the next wave of Alain Souchon, Véronique Sanson, Michel Berger, Julien Clerc came from... the bourgeoisie.

"[41] The album was influential to Greg Gonzalez, leader of the American dream pop group Cigarettes After Sex, who cited Hardy as his favorite singer and stated: "La question is just so perfect, I wanted that kind of beauty.

[54] American singer-songwriter Alyssa Graham called Hardy a "constant source of inspiration," and wrote: "La question is brilliantly produced and offers everything you could ever want from this dreamy and stunning artist.