The Feld-Blog

The Mass Youth Protests have paid off. President Chirac decided to scrap the Youth Work Law that had incited so many demonstrations throughout France in the past few weeks. Youth can be a powerful political force, so why aren't they in America.

Media in Britain, France, America, in fact, nearly everywhere, tend to portray youth as delinquent, apathetic or even dangerous. 18-24 year old voters in America turn out in incredibly low percentages and so politicians tend to support policies that help the elderly at the expense of the young because they think they can get away with it, and the electoral evidence seems to support this. It is too bad that it took a law, essentially stripping French Youth of any job security, to inspire any kind of political movement. Moreover, it is unfortunate that the youth chose mass demonstrations and riots. Still, It is important to note that, when pressed, the youth vote can have a powerful political impact.