Youth Revolt in France: The Sacrificed Generation

French media describe a government that was completely taken by surprise by student protests that suddenly flared up and, out of panic fear of a spreading revolt, now sees no other solution than brutal repression.

This is complemented by rhetorical bravado and the conspiracy theory that Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the “ultra-left” masterminds from the “La France insoumise” party are undoubtedly to blame for the whole chaos. Since the middle of last week, the government, which has fallen into difficulties, has already called several “crisis meetings”.

Nothing in French politics is as predictable as social conflicts in the context of the annual national budget debates. And this is especially true this fall: Because of a national debt of more than 3,400 billion euros and the requirement to limit the deficit to 5 percent of GDP for 2027, the government wants to save around 50 billion euros. But she rejects appropriate taxation of the richest.

On the other hand, all loans are snipped and trimmed, even to the detriment of the alleged priorities for education, social and health spending. Although spending on education is supposed to increase, it doesn't even compensate for inflation. The government also wanted to introduce new fees for vocational secondary schools. That was pure provocation.

The proposed savings would worsen the problems that have been accumulating for years in many schools and universities. The young people also understand this, who already have the feeling that they are a “génération sacrifiée” (“sacrificed generation”) who will have to pay for the damage caused by their predecessors in the future. The legal parties also want to assert family liability for the property damage caused in disputes with the law enforcement officers in front of the schools in order to ask the parents to cover the costs.

The state leadership itself, however, rejects any responsibility for the crisis in the school system. She acts as if she didn't know that her budgetary policy was spreading tinder in the schools, which is now igniting into a wildfire. Anyone who accuses her of this and shows solidarity with the legitimate protesters is suspected of being an arsonist from the perspective of the authorities.

Of course, it is much easier to intimidate young people with massive repression and to defame the left-wing opposition as accomplices of the “chaos makers” than to present a socially just state budget.