Politics · France · 5 hrs ago
France’s young people face unemployment as the state plans spending cuts
France’s government has proposed a 54-billion-euro reduction in spending for 2027 as it tries to lower the budget deficit.
The plan combines spending cuts and higher revenues, but pensions were left out of the proposed adjustments after earlier efforts to change retirement rules drew strong opposition.
In late 2025, unemployment among French people aged 15 to 24 rose to 21.5%, compared with about 5% among people over 50.
That gap has fed concerns that younger people bear more of the costs than the benefits of France’s welfare system.
Meanwhile, the country’s public debt reached 119% of its economy in the second quarter of 2026, and is projected to rise further.
Higher borrowing costs mean servicing that debt is becoming more expensive.
The government’s budget plan aims to reduce the deficit, but the proposed cuts and the distribution of costs between generations remain central tensions.
France’s unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 24 rose to 21.5% in the final quarter of 2025, its highest level since 2021.
The rate increased by 2.4 percentage points, while unemployment among people over 50 stayed around 5%.
France’s proposed 2027 budget includes €54 billion in spending reductions and other measures to reduce the deficit.
The article says young people feel excluded from the benefits of public spending while facing debt passed on to future generations.
France’s public debt reached 119% of GDP in the second quarter and is projected to reach 121.7% in 2027.
- Who
- Young people in France, especially those aged 15 to 24.
- What
- Youth unemployment rose as the state plans measures to reduce spending and the deficit.
- When
- Youth unemployment figures are for the final quarter of 2025; the budget proposal is for 2027.
- Where
- France.
- Why
- The article links the budget measures to efforts to lower the deficit and says young people feel they bear the costs of a social contract that benefits older generations.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
France’s 10-year bond yield reached 4.96%, its highest level since July 2002.
Unemployment among French people aged 15 to 24 rose by 2.4 percentage points to 21.5%.
The National Assembly approved the Social Security budget, suspending the pension reform that would have raised the retirement age from 62 to 64.
France’s proposed budget plans €54 billion in reductions and other measures.
- Youth unemployment
- 21.5% in the final quarter of 2025
- Change in youth unemployment
- Up 2.4 percentage points
- Unemployment among people over 50
- Around 5%
- Proposed 2027 budget measures
- €54 billion
- Public debt
- 119% of GDP in the second quarter; projected at 121.7% in 2027
1 source
What people are saying
the welfare state for the elderly and the debt for us