The "old people boom" : a predictable disaster

Like other European countries, France is faced with a important demographic upheaval : the ageing of the population will have complex, large scale repercussions throughout the whole of French society. However, it would be wrong of us to paint an over-gloomy picture since we have an important trump card up our sleeves by comparison with our neighbours : we have the youngest population in Europe providing a workforce which will make outsiders jealous when the baby boom generation retires. Various options will become available because the wave of immigrants hit France later than other countries. France should first of all rely on maintaining the oldest age-group of the population in employment, thus enabling young people to enter the job market earlier. By analysing the global situation, and without paying too much attention to prevailing ideological concepts, François Michaux interprets the important challenges with which our society will soon be faced, and much sooner than we may think.