Why has unemployment, which has been virtually nonexistent for twenty-five years, become so widespread in France since the late Sixties? Why have the various governments been unable to reabsorb or contain it? Why do incoherent analyses or inapplicable and perverse propositions continue to emerge? In what direction should we be looking for the solution? A global explanation of unemployment, from an expert who calls for action.A Former director of Le Monde, Jacques Lesourne is a professor of economy at industrial statistics at the Conservatoire National des arts et métiers (CNAM).