Youth unemployment in France

The BBC’s International Business Correspondent Theo Leggett is in France ahead of the Presidential elections to explore an issue important to many voters – youth unemployment.

In the northeast of the country a quarter of young people aren’t in work, education, or training. We explore what the issues are, the problems with inequality and recruitment.

We hear from Sebastien Bento Soares, CEO of Darquer, a lace manufacturer based in Calais that is struggling to recruit younger workers, André Dupon, director of Vitamine T, a social enterprise that helps unemployed people reintegrate the world of work. Salomé and Soufiane, young people based in Boulogne-sur-Mer, tell Theo what’s going on in their lives and Florence Jany-Catrice, economist at the University of Lille talks about the political issues underpinning the youth unemployment problems. Presenter: Theo Leggett; Producer: Josh Thorpe (Photo: Lucas, a young unemployed person learning carpentry skills at Vitamine T, a social enterprise outside Lille; Credit: BBC)