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1. Main challenges to social inclusion

2. Main concepts

Main challenges to social inclusion

Young people are dealing with several obstacles that make theirs a long and difficult journey towards independence, and that affect their ability to take their place and to act in society. The main challenges facing them include their professional insertion, improving their living conditions, and reducing social disparities between young people themselves. The situation of young people varies according to their level of education, their social category, and their home environment.

Inequalities between young people and the gradual precarity of their living conditions are thus crucial challenges for public authorities, which must respond to social emergencies and act on several levers (health, housing, education, employment, etc.) to enable better social inclusion of all young people, especially the most vulnerable.

In France, various data produced by the ministerial statistics, research services and observatories recognised by the public authorities help characterise the situation of poverty that affects youth in particular.  

The social inclusion of young people is strongly influenced by their socio-economic background—particularly that of their family—their level of education, and their geographic location. The process of social inclusion is marked by significant inequalities, especially economic and social ones, with social mobility considered to have been "in decline" for young people since the 2000s (Vie publique (2023). Jeunes : une mobilité sociale en recul depuis les années 2000.). Thus, in 2022, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut national de la statistique et des données économiques - INSEE) showed that young people reproduce the inequalities of previous generations, as the probability of reaching the top 25% income bracket is 2.7 times higher for children whose parents already belong to that group (INSEE (2022). La France est-elle LE pays de la reproduction des inégalités entres générations ?).

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, 9.1 million people live below the poverty line. Among them, the National Institute for Youth and Popular Education (Institut national de la jeunesse et de l’éducation populaire - INJEP) counted, in 2021, 4.1 million young people under the age of 30 with a standard of living below the poverty threshold, set at €1,158 per month for a single person (INJEP (2024). Chiffres clés de la DJEPVA, latest available data).

In 2022, 12% of French people aged 15 to 29 were considered Neither in Employment, nor in Education or Training (NEET). This proportion reaches nearly 16.1% among those aged 25 to 29. That same year, 10% of 15- to 29-year-olds had an education level equivalent to or lower than the brevet des collèges (a diploma marking the end of CITE level 2) (INJEP (2024). Chiffres clés de la DJEPVA).

Young people also show a low rate of benefit uptake: in 2021, 24% of young people aged 18 to 30 were not claiming benefits that could help them access their rights (housing, healthcare, education…) (INJEP (2021). Baromètre DJEPVA sur la jeunesse. Latest available data).

Inequalities are even more pronounced for young people with disrupted socialization pathways (family breakdown, child welfare). According to the French Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics, 3% of young people in the care of Child welfare services (Aide sociale à l’enfance - ASE) are no longer in school at age 16, compared to nearly 100% school attendance among other youth (Direction de la recherche, des études, de l’évaluation et des statistiques (2021). 74 000 jeunes acceillis dans les établissements de l'aide sociale à l'enfance fin 2021, latest data available). In 2019, 26% of homeless people born in France were former children placed in child protection services (more than 10,000 people) (Fondation pour le Logement des Défavorisés (2019). L'état du mal-logement en France, latest available data).

The 2018–2022 (Stratégie de lutte contre la pauvreté) highlighted a recurring situation for young adults coming out of the French Child welfare services, who are considered a particularly vulnerable group, although they are increasingly supported in their path toward autonomy. In 2020:

• 79% of these young people had stable housing (compared to 61% in 2019)
• 55% had access to financial resources (compared to 45% in 2019)
• 66% had access to professional or educational pathways (compared to 56% in 2019), according to the French Ministry of Labour, Health, Solidarity and Families.

Young people aged 18 to 34 are also a population that is susceptible to discrimination in many areas. In 2021, young people reported being victims of discrimination compared to the rest of the population (Défenseur des droits (2021). La perception des discriminations dans l'emploi, latest data available):

• In the search for a job: 56% felt they had been discriminated against
• In career advancement: 48%
• At school or university: 45%
• In access to housing: 53%
• During police checks: 54%
• When applying for a loan or insurance: 42%

Inequalities are also more pronounced geographically for young people who are « distanced from opportunities », particularly those in rural areas, Priority districts in urban policy, or in départements and French overseas territories:

• Rural youth. according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, in 2022, 46% of young people lived in rural areas. According to the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs, 338,000 rural youth aged between 16 and 29 were living below the poverty line, with significant difficulties in accessing employment (22.4%), and a high prevalence of precarious employment (37.8% on short-term or temporary contracts) (Inspection générale des affaires sociales (2025). Pauvreté et conditions de vie des jeunes dans le monde rural: Comment adapter les réponses institutionnelles ?).
• Youth from Priority districts in urban policy (Quartiers prioritaires de la politique de la ville - QPV). 45% of QPV residents live below the poverty line (Observatoire des inégalités, 2024). In 2021 (latest available data), 40% of QPV residents were under the age of 25—representing 2.16 million people—according to the l’Institut national de la jeunesse et de l’éducation populaire (INJEP (2021). Qui sont les jeunes des quartiers de la politique de la ville (QPV) ?). According to both INJEP and the an independent administrative authority Défenseur des Droits, youth in QPV are the most affected by job insecurity and the rise of gig economy work, becoming a reservoir for low-skilled jobs in transportation and delivery services. Among this population, over 25% of young people were NEETs (French Senate (2021). Rapport d’information.).
• Youth from the départements and French overseas territories. These territories are characterized by a predominantly young population: in 2021 (latest available data, Observatoire du ministère de l’Intérieur et des Outre-mer), 60.2% of the population in Mayotte was under 25 years old, 48% in French Guiana, 35% in Réunion, 28.6% in Guadeloupe, and 26% in Martinique. Young people are particularly vulnerable due to persistent economic and social fragilities in the overseas territories. In 2021 (latest available data, INSEE), 27.3% of young people (aged 15–29) were NEETs in Guadeloupe, 25.6% in Martinique, 30% in Réunion, and 36.7% in French Guiana.

All of these youth populations face more limited access to information and opportunities, as well as more complex pathways for international mobility due to geographic remoteness. Despite France’s processes of déconcentration (i.e. delegating powers to local representatives while keeping central control) and décentralisation (i.e. transferring powers to local governments with autonomy), major cities in metropolitan France—especially Paris—remain privileged hubs for accessing administrative procedures and mobility opportunities.

In 2022, within metropolitan France, 14.5 million people aged 15 and over (28%) reported experiencing a disability or health limitation, declaring at least one severe functional limitation (sensory, motor, cognitive, or relational). Among them, 5.4 million (10%) stated they were strongly limited in carrying out essential daily activities. That same year, 30 300 children and adolescents were reported as living in full-time, weekly, or periodic boarding arrangements in medical and social institutions and services (établissements et services médico-sociaux - ESMS) dedicated to young people with disabilities—a figure representing 17% of the youth supported by these structures (Direction de la Recherche, des Études, de l'Évaluation et des Statistiques (2024). Le handicap en chiffre).

The issue of gender-based inequality also remains salient. For young women in particular, several interrelated challenges are identified:

• Intentional discrimination: In 2021, 11.3% of employed women (compared to 7% of men) reported experiencing « unequal treatment or discrimination at work » (Vie publique (2024) Discrimination au travail: sexisme, origines et état de santé sont les motifs les plus cités). This discrimination may be compounded by age-based bias: in 2024, 15% of women under 30 said they had experienced discriminatory behavior, compared to 4.6% of men in the same age group, 8% of women of all ages, and 4% of men of all ages (Observatoire des inégalités (2024). Les jeunes femmes se disent beaucoup plus victimes de discriminations).
• Sexist and sexual violence: In 2024, 85% of victims of sexual violence are women, regardless of age or context (French Ministry of Interior (2024). Les victimes de violences physiques ou sexuelles enregistrées par les services de sécurité en 2023).

However, there is also evidence of growing awareness among youth regarding these inequalities: 74% of girls and 54% of boys aged 17 to 19 said that a lot still needs to be done to achieve real gender equality (Haut conseil à l’égalité (2022). Rapport - Egalité, stéréotypes, discriminations entre les femmes et les hommes : perceptions et vécus chez les jeunes générations en 2022).

Main concepts

Among the concepts and principles guiding social inclusion policies implemented in France, two principles specifically help to define and understand social inclusion measures: support (accompagnement) and the principle of common law (droit commun).

Support (Accompagnement) (cf. Chapter 3 Employment and entrepreneurship)

Support constitutes a principle that characterises the policies of social inclusion. Support is part of a process of social intervention with the objective of helping people in difficulty and establishing with them a relationship based on listening, advice, and mutual help. It aims to establish a relationship based on reciprocity as well as involvement, while making the person helped an actor who plays a part in putting together and implementing her/his own life plan. That notion is at the heart of social work, and it refers to professional practice and approach in which social workers (educators, social workers, and youth workers) must support young people in coming out of precarity and, more generally, in moving towards independence. That principle takes the form of a number of social-inclusion arrangements within which professionals support young people along their insertion pathway, along the lines of the Youth commitment contract.

“Common law” (Droit commun)

The notion of “common laws” describes the set of legal rules that apply to all situations that are not covered by special or particular rules. Common-law arrangements can then be used by all beneficiaries without distinction. Young people benefit from several common-law arrangements that play a role in their social insertion (housing benefits, etc.), but it is most often the case that young people are unaware of those arrangements, which accounts for a significant proportion of non-use of entitlements. Encouraging young people’s access to common-law arrangements is a recurrent challenge in youth policies.