Currently around 26%, France’s youth unemployment rate continues to rise. Consequently, many young people in France are looking for a way out.
I can certainly understand this sentiment; I know I would be incredibly discouraged and worried if I knew that one out of every four of my college classmates would not get a job upon graduation. Furthermore, the three graduates who do find jobs may not even find them in their respective fields. As the French say, quelle horreur!
Due to this down-heartening statistic, more and more French students are getting multiple degrees. At my school in Lyon, Université Lumière Lyon 2, tuition for each semester runs between 250 and 300 euros—which is nothing compared to American tuition. I have met several students here who are in their sixth or seventh year of university because it is cheap and they have few viable job prospects in the real world. Many of them are very interested in the United States and some hope to move there once they finish school because statistically, it should be easier for them to find a job. For them, starting over in a new country seems like a better idea than staying in France. What does that say about the dire situation in Europe?
The Euro is failing, unemployment rates and debt levels are soaring, the European Union is fragile, and confidence is nonexistent. French young people are disillusioned and it really seems like they are stuck in a rut—like there is no real hope that things will get better anytime soon.
Yeah, I would probably leave, too.
Longterm, this could have dramatic effects on the French economy. If many of its best and brightest leave for greener pastures, who will be left to lead France itself? I know there is no quick, easy, or simple solution to the French (and, for that matter, the European) economic crisis, but they need to quickly implement new policy if they hope to avoid more disastrous effects.
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