(p. A6) The income gap between generations is even more severe in France than in the United States, said Louis Chauvel, a French sociologist who has also worked in America on income inequality and other issues. On top of that, Mr. Chauvel added, the United States economy has been rebounding, while unemployment in France has been rising since 2008 and has hovered around 10 percent for the last two years.
“In the U.S., the young 25-year-olds have lots of opportunities,” he said. “It’s generally much better to be relatively young in the United States than to be aging.
“In France, we face a completely different trend: We have more and more educated young French citizens, and they face economic scarcity, even though they have more education than their parents.”
Young adults in France see their taxes going to finance social benefits for retirees that they believe they will never receive, Mr. Chauvel added. The most energetic and smartest among them do find jobs, he said, but often they can do it only by leaving France for Britain, Australia or the United States.
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(Note: the online version of the story has the date MARCH 3, 2015, and has the title “‘Toute La Vie,’ Song for French Charity, Strikes Discordant Note.”)