In a speech address made on January 18, French President François Hollande announced a €2bn plan to fight France’s high level of unemployment, which he referred to as a “state of economic emergency”. The strategy, which Hollande promised would not involve higher taxes, will streamline regulations in order to encourage companies to hire new workers. Additionally, businesses with less than 250 employees will be given a €2,000 subsidy for hiring an unemployed person and retaining them as a full-time staff member for a period of at least six months.
At 25.7 percent, France’s youth unemployment is increasingly problematic, particularly in marginalised suburbs that are predominantly Muslim and face growing social instability. The Hollande administration will attempt to reduce youth employment, which is among the highest in the EU, by putting thousands to work in ‘civic service programmes’. Last year, around 60,000 had enrolled in the voluntary placements, while the government hopes to increase this figure to 160,000 in 2016.
At 25.7 percent, France’s youth unemployment is increasingly problematic, particularly in marginalised suburbs
Controversially, the proposal also includes vocational training schemes for 500,000 people, which will temporarily remove them from the unemployment register.
Given an unemployment rate of 10.6 percent – the country’s highest in 18 years – Hollande is hoping to provide a much-needed impetus to resolve the debilitating issue. However, shortly after his speech was made to business leaders in New York, critics accused the president of having political motives behind his new initiative. With France’s next presidential election approaching in 2017 and Hollande’s promise to not run for a second term unless there is an improvement to the country’s stubborn unemployment rate, he has relatively little time left to resolve the problem or else bow out from the premiership.