Two fundamental trends, apparently unrelated, combine today in France.
On the one hand, a growing number of young French people, with or without degrees, leave the country. In order to study, work abroad; and from now on, most of them do it with no idea of coming back; without any feeling of owing something to the country that gave them a culture, and financed their education, health, and safety. Because from now on, the only thing that matters to them is their personal fate; because they no longer feel any responsibility in respect to France; and finally because they think they cannot flourish, in a country where more than one quarter of the youth are unemployed, where they feel initiative is hindered, where they feel positions are reserved to those who have connections, and where for them the right to succeed, and the right to become wealthy seem to disappear under the blows of taxation and bureaucracy.
On the other hand, a growing number of young French people, with or without degrees, also turn away from the country. But, without leaving. They choose internal exile, living in France without accepting its rules or culture.
They close themselves off in religious movements, sects, groups, in languages other than French.
They live in France as in a country that would be foreign to them, in which nothing would relate them to, where there would be no future; with no roots elsewhere, they then invent an imaginary country, place of their exile, which they see themselves as a vanguard.
External exile of young people leaving to seek fortune in London or Shanghai.
Internal exile of suburban youth, unemployed at the foot of low-rent housing projects or Salafists manifesting on the Champs Elysees. In both cases, young people full of promise lost for our country.
If this continues, the country will thus lose much of its vital strengths. Real and virtual nomadism will destroy the nation. While these same young people, oriented differently, could very usefully build in France businesses, works of art, and renew the political class of the country.
In order to achieve this, it is urgent to make all the young people of this country feel like they have rights and duties there.
Rights because they must receive from the nation the means to train, find their way, create businesses, without privileges for the children of theleaders; even if this means to involve the other generations, and especially retirees: after all, it is the young people who, through their work, guarantee the sustainable payment of pensions.
Duties also, towards the country, because previous generations have funded their youth and they must make possible, through their work, that of their own children.
For this delicate balance to be successful, so that the social contract can regain its strength,
it is in priority the task of politicians to give back to the young people some reasons to be proud to be French. Some reasons to believe that the country is worthy of the expectations of future generations. And for that, dare even to go further, because history shows: a country that does not attract foreigners will not be able to keep its own children.
Much daring will be needed to rethink in this way all the dimensions of our national policy. Yet this is critical to our survival.
j@Attali.com
Twitter: @jattali