France’s falling birth rate explained
France’s birth rate hit its lowest level since World War II last year - a threat to the country’s long-term social model. #France had been an outlier in Europe, maintaining a solid birth rate while numbers collapsed in Germany, Italy and Spain.
President Macron has vowed to tackle the issue by offering better parental leave and combating infertility. But many of the measures his government is mulling have failed to work in other countries. The strain on the financing of the social system is also being compounded by increased longevity - the French are living longer than ever.
#Birthrate #economy #socialsecurity
President Macron has vowed to tackle the issue by offering better parental leave and combating infertility. But many of the measures his government is mulling have failed to work in other countries. The strain on the financing of the social system is also being compounded by increased longevity - the French are living longer than ever.
#Birthrate #economy #socialsecurity
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NewsTranscript
00:00 France's birth rate fell to its lowest level since World War II last year.
00:06 678,000 babies were born, nearly 7% fewer than the year before and down about 20% since 2010.
00:15 Economic factors, concerns about how kids will impact careers and what sort of future they will inherit are all factors.
00:23 But some say that governments, which are largely led by men, are overlooking one important factor.
00:30 That an increasing number of women simply don't want to be mothers.
00:34 A recent Elle magazine and Ifop poll showed that 30% of French women that don't already have children say they never want them.
00:44 And some fear that this could impact France's social model,
00:48 which depends on a large number of young workers to support a smaller number of retirees.
00:55 Demographers in the country, though, say it's too early to draw conclusions that the trend could reverse itself
01:01 and that a gradual population decline could actually be beneficial,
01:05 offsetting societal costs like public education and encouraging more women to join the workforce.
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