The French high schooler-led uprising is not a sign of a generational struggle pitting the young against baby boomers.

The French high schooler-led uprising is not a sign of a generational struggle pitting the young against baby boomers.

The uprisings indicate a state of discontentment reflecting three grievances: failings within the education system, eco-anxiety and concerns over employment in the age of AI.

The uprisings indicate a state of discontentment reflecting three grievances: failings within the education system, eco-anxiety and concerns over employment in the age of AI.

Far from demanding a break with the established order, young protesters are simply asking for the right to live a good and fair life… like their predecessors before them.

Far from demanding a break with the established order, young protesters are simply asking for the right to live a good and fair life… like their predecessors before them.

Rarely has Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents seemed so relevant to the times in which we are living. Although the discontents we are currently witnessing do not necessarily affect society as a whole, they are certainly impacting an entire generation born in the 21st century, as well as their parents and their social environment. Admittedly, we know that generations are not homogeneous and that any attempt to generalise is an oversimplification. Nevertheless, the high schoolers that are taking to the streets to protest in this day and age belong to a relatively homogeneous age cohort.

You would be forgiven for thinking that the current unrest is the result of a clash of generations. From the outside, it is often viewed as a generational tug of war between a struggling young population and the rest: an aging but relatively prosperous Europe. Criticism is, without doubt, being directed at “baby-boomers” or those born during the thirty years following World War II (which were marked by economic prosperity and low unemployment, conditions that now seem a world away today).

The problem lies elsewhere

Nevertheless, this is not a generational conflict, and the fact that a substantial proportion of parents, as well as the majority of the population, share the students’ demands shows that the problem lies elsewhere. These demands are nothing new, and they help explain why many parents joined their children during the first demonstrations, along with teachers, to show their support over deteriorating conditions in high schools.

The students and their initial demands were hijacked by more politically radical movements,........

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