Flarenasch, under the title Viens. Reception La question was highly acclaimed by the French press upon its initial release. However, it sold poorly in comparison to other works by the singer, as it received little promotion in television, and failed to gain traction in radio stations and among audiences at the time. 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." In her autobiography, Hardy wrote: "This record seemed to me to be more homogeneous, with more class and sophistication than the others, and if it did not find, unlike the others, the success of the general public, I pretend to believe it reached another. An example: in the 1980s, I quickly met Suzanne Vega and she recognized me thanks to that album that her brother often listened to. On another occasion, I was going to Japan and journalists confessed their predilection for this album. An ambitious album is more or less unnoticed on its release, but it continues to exist for a long time." In retrospect, La question has continued to receive generally positive reviews. Writing for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger lauded the album, choosing "La question", "Le martien" and "Bâti mon nid" as the album's most representative tracks, and writing: "As fireside romantic music goes, it beats the hell out of José Feliciano." In 2015, he also stated that La question is "easily her strongest post-mid-1960s album, not to mention one of the all-time makeout records." The Quietus, Télérama, PopMatters, Pitchfork and Indie Hoy agreed to call it Hardy's masterpiece. Writing for the Brazilian online magazine Obvious, Vitor Dirami considered it "one of the most sophisticated and conceptual records of her career." French website Nightfall.fr gave La question a five-out-of-five stars rating, describing it as "an album whose beauty is more than resplendent." Qobuz Magazine considered that the album remains Hardy's best effort, as did Ferran Llauradó of Rockdelux. Legacy Despite its poor commercial performance upon release, La question has generated a dedicated cult following over the years, remaining a classic among her fans for its "lyrical sensuality and sophisticated arrangements." It is considered Hardy's artistic peak and "an unquestionable member of the French pop canon". Matt James of PopMatters felt that something in the album "remains magical, untouchable,