The French (youth) in trouble?
April 17, 2007
(social issue) I found this very interesting article about the stories of young people in despair, part of the BBC radio programmes called Crossing Continents. What do these people interviewed have in common? They are all of African or Arabian descendance or have been staying in the suburbs (banlieues) of a big city in continental France. They have educated themselves and acquired university degrees, but yet this wasn’t enough for a smooth integration in the society and in the work market. They have all tried their chance either in another EU country, where they achieved getting a job within some days, or they tried to be innovative and with the use of their entrepreneual spirit sat up their businesses in France or abroad.
Although they have have the drive to succeed and integrate, there are big issues that lie on the way. So where does the problem lie?
In addition I would like to give this link to a very interesting article found in Time Magazine, where the youth of France cries out for changes in order to make the market more flexible and open to new ideas, instead of being conservative, afraid of changing the old “recipe” and becoming a victim of its’ own globalisation-fear.
The need for a different mentality, more open to innovators, has created a wave of young minds moving to the UK, Spain, Germany or even beyond the European boarders to places such as North America and Japan.
These two subjects, part of a bigger problem in France concerning unemployment and the state of the French market, are main issues in the campaigns of the stronger (according to polls) candidates for the presidential elections such as Ségolène Royal, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Bayrou. These issues are approached in a different way by each candidate and this is what the people in France are going to vote, which approach will according to them give the best result (or at least I hope they will!).
But maybe these two articles should alert the rest of Europe. We are reading for the succesful Nordic model, the positive trends in the UK economy and the Irish tiger, but yet what about the younger minds and integration of immigrants. For some years now, many EU countries have been complaining for the growing numbers of younger minds moving across the borders of the continent to the US or Asia without any plans of returning back. Maybe we should instead focus on these people with fresh ideas that will enable the national economies of the European continent to flourish or continue flourishing, instead of loosing them to “rival” economies and markets. Should we wait, or should we take action?
April 17, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Hi there Kim, (wazzup dude?=)
I think you raise some very good points. I look at France in a somewhat terrified look. On one side, I have no clue what’s going on there (the coverage of the presidential election have been scarce to say at least), on the other side there’s what I know (or read, to be more exact). It seems that the radical right have gained more ground, and this combined with the high rate of non-ethnic french (especially youth) in the french suburbs… well, I see big problems ahead for the french society.
This unstable turmoil is, I believe, some of the reason for the smart, non-ethnic french youth to go abroad. There are rascism in Asia and America also, but it doesn’t seem to have the same effect on the social and economical conditions.
I do not know how big a problem this is outside France. I know it’s a growing problem in Russia, and with these fronts there might be a base to wonder if this could spread to middle and rest of western Europe as well.
In Norway there are problems for the non-norwegian population to get jobs in high-paid-places, but I think this is a problem that is being solved. It’s at least a debate that isn’t silenced. Of course, I can’t really say I see it a lot here I am (southern part of Norway; figure that=P), but I believe I will take more part of the discussion when I move to Oslo this fall.
Hmm… I guess I can’t really say anything against what you say. I concur=) But it’s a good read, and I appriciate you taking such a try on these big, international themes.
Go go dude!
(and good luck further)
April 23, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Hey Arne,
nice to hear from you. I read with interest your comments and it is true that concerning the work market and integration of non-ethnic Norwegians as well as the extremely low numbers of youth unemployment, Norway is some miles ahead.
But I must also say that we are badly informed in Norway when it comes to international news – especially news from other European countries. The French elections have been in the spotlight of many European countries’ media, including our neighbours in Denmark and Sweden. It was 2 weeks ago we started having some comments written mainly in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten and on the TV shown by the TV programme URIX of NRK. The only question that comes to my mind right now is – are we in Norway actually so distant and away from (the rest of) Europe?
I agree with you that in Norway, as well as in the rest of Scandinavia and Finland, children of immigrants have been easier integrated in the society and they don’t experience – most of the times – any kind of racism while studying or when applying for work. But there are a number of new people arriving in our country and maybe we should rethink our integration policies in order to be able to cope with this new wave and to avoid similar incidents, as the ones in the suburbs of a number of French cities.