Nicolas Bouzou, an economist, is a professor at the University of Paris-VII and a senior lecturer at the Institut de Sciences Politiques, in Paris. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Le Chagrin des classes moyennes, published by Jean-Claude Lattès.
The author notably of Vaincre les peurs, Luc Ferry is a philosopher and the president of the Council for Social Analysis.

In a world undergoing major changes, young people in France remain generally confident in their individual futures and in their personal capacities to succeed. And yet, they often express pessimistic views regarding the future of their generation and of their country, and some reveal profound disaffection with France’s institutions and media.
What are the aspirations and expectations of French youth? Which of their concerns for the future are grounded in reality and which can be attributed to myth? Measures favouring youth employment have been introduced by successive French governments: what can be done to make such policies succeed, and how can each young person be given the necessary help and support to become an autonomous adult?

• A subject that has been much in the news in France and which will certainly be an essential issue of the 2012 presidential campaign.