Young people in France — including some who haven’t even entered the job market yet — protested Thursday against the government’s push to raise the retirement age. FRANCE 24 spoke to an expert on French employment matters to better understand this phenomenon.
One of the most contentious elements of the French government’s controversial pension reform is the increase of the legal retirement age from 62 to 64, something that would normally seem a long way from the minds of young people. On Thursday, however, students blocked access to some universities and high schools, and youth-led protests were held in Paris and Lyon as part of nationwide strikes and demonstrations against the pension bill under debate in parliament.
FRANCE 24: What’s so special about the French and their relationship to the workplace? What is it that motivates people here in fighting for their rights?
Marc Loriol: The French are much more attached to their workplace compared to their counterparts in other European and North American countries due to our social and cultural heritage. A study conducted by philosopher Dominique Méda showed that French workers are consequently much more critical about changes surrounding the workplace. The French expect a lot from their workplace; work is not just about money, but personal fulfilment, a sense of purpose… So people here suffer deeply when they don’t receive proper recognition and compensation from their place of work.
Even though the proposed pension reform does not affect young people directly in the near future, they are making their voices heard in protests across the nation these past few weeks. Who are they and why is that?
Marc Loriol: First of all, I’d like to point out the strong disparities between various groups of young people in France. You have university graduates, who start their first jobs later in life, and there are young factory workers, who have started much earlier.
And of course, this means that they’ll be affected differently by the government’s proposed pension reform. Those starting out relatively later in life will be relatively unscathed by the rise of the legal retirement age, since they already need to work longer than that (in order to accumulate the 172 trimesters, or 43 years, for the full pension scheme). But the young factory workers, who are already in precarious situations, will undoubtedly be impacted.
On the one hand, young factory workers, despite being one of the reform’s biggest victims, unfortunately belong to a class of workers that cannot afford to go on strike. Most of them are on fixed-term contracts, some are even temporary. Going on strike or even joining unions are too great of a risk for them. They are afraid that it’ll jeopardise their professional careers, which are already quite fragile.
University students, on the other hand, are far more likely to participate in demonstrations. Usually they possess a lot of cultural and financial capital that allows them this liberty. Even those with smaller financial means can find themselves participating in protests. Often of middle-class background with parents working white-collar office jobs and taking home an average pay, these students are first-hand witnesses to deteriorating work conditions and stagnating wages. Hence, they are terrified of the future, not knowing whether or not their studies will lead them to good jobs, whether or not they will succeed in life… The government’s pension reform proposal is further exacerbating that fear of having to work even more years under worsening conditions.
Then you have students from the elite universities (grandes écoles) coming from wealthy parents generally working in prestigious professions. Aspiring to follow in their parents’ footsteps in pursuing high-paying jobs in areas such as law, finance, engineering, etc., these students may feel indifferent vis-à-vis the government’s pension reform proposal and are thus more likely to refrain from joining in the protests.
Moreover, you have to account for the fact that the majority of young people imitate their parents in terms of political affiliations. Studies have shown that young people with parents leaning to the right wing of the political spectrum tend to themselves be right-leaning; the same goes for the left.
Due to inequality, war and human rights issues, youth protests swept across the western hemisphere in the 1960’s and 70’s and heavily altered our cultural landscape. A similar backdrop seems to be developing currently with an ongoing war in Europe, high inflation, climate change and a potential pension reform. Do you think there’s a possibility for mass youth protests like those seen in France in May '68 to erupt?
Marc Loriol: It’s very hard to predict the future, of course. For example, we thought the 'Yellow vest' protests in 2018 signalled the end of trade unions, but look at them now. Look at Tuesday’s protests... They’re back on their feet.
One thing I can say for sure is, discontent is building among the younger generations, especially among the working class. That much is obvious. Children of blue-collar workers are growing up to realise that they’re barely surpassing their parents in terms of job prospects and pay, despite receiving education.
In spite of their diplomas, they’re not accomplishing more and that translates into a deep sense of frustration and anger.
Whether or not this will build up to protests like those of May '68, we can’t know, but the government is placing a dangerous bet in hoping that this will all blow over sometime soon.
