“Living in the moment”… How 20-year-olds see their lives in 2067

Reindeer,

Their retirement, they don’t think about it. Some admitted to us that they had never even thought about it. This Tuesday, they were however in the street to shout their opposition to the reform wanted by the government of Elisabeth Borne which provides for an extension of the retirement age to 64 years. Whether they are 15, 18, 20, 24 or 27, these young people are all worried about their future. But they are much more alarmed by the precariousness of their near future than by the hypothetical retirement they could claim within forty years. Everyone we met insisted on the need to live with dignity without killing themselves at work. Here are some testimonies gleaned at random from our discussions in the procession of demonstrators in Rennes. Discussions against a background of saturating sound, sometimes interspersed with broken windows and even disturbed by the smoke of a burning Tesla.

Mathilde, 24 years old, AESH

She works 24 hours a week as a support for students with disabilities (AESH). A job that Mathilde likes very much but that she does not plan to do all her life. “It’s like pasta. Even if you love it, after a while, if you eat it every day, it becomes bland,” she slips into a smile. “Me, I prefer not to work too long, then you become embittered. How does she see her retirement? “If it’s 64, I think I’ll be dead before. And if not, I can see myself in my parents’ old house, growing my little vegetables with a few dogs”.

Sami, 19, in high school

He would like to become a special education teacher. A job that makes him want but that he does not intend to practice without counting. “I don’t see myself working like a madman just to save money. It is modern slavery. Working all his life just to have a few years of retirement, that doesn’t make me want to. I prefer to live in the moment. If he retires at 64, Sami will have to wait until 2069 to rest. “I can’t even think that far ahead. I have the impression that we are slowly heading towards a horrible end, without our realizing it. »

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in France on January 19, 2023 to say no to pension reform. Here in Rennes. – C. Allain/20 Minutes

Marie, 27, children’s entertainer

She only works full time during school holidays. Animator for children, Marie has a “very irregular” and not really remunerative job. Not really an advantage when it comes to pension contributions. “I don’t feel able to take a full-time job, to get up every day. My mother, she worked all the time, I never saw her. It’s impossible to imagine myself forty years in the same box. His ideal of life? “I don’t need a big salary. What I want is to enjoy life, even if it’s a little precarious. And for retirement? “A somewhat schlag house with friends. I prefer kindness and love to money. »

Léa, 16, in a professional kitchen baccalaureate

She was sure she had found her calling. But the first contacts made with the chefs did not really convince Léa to pursue a career in catering. “I don’t want to do this anymore. What else then? ” No matter. I think I want to find a job to save money and then go travelling. And then start working again to save and again and again. “A Gruyère career that could harm him on the contribution period imposed to leave with a full rate. If she leaves at 64, it will be in 2071… “I don’t see myself in a retirement home or a hospital bed, that seems too sad to me. I want to enjoy life before I reach 60 or 70. At that age, you no longer have the faith to take advantage of it. »

Martin, 18, looking for a job

When asked what he plans for his retirement, Martin is very annoyed. “I already don’t know what I’m going to do next year. So in forty years, I can’t even imagine. Activist, he wants to keep hope in the collective mobilization to change the law. “When I’m old, I would like to be in a fairer system, which will have changed thanks to our struggles. In the meantime, he does odd jobs. “It’s heavy mentally and physically.”

Félix, 20 years old, in geography college

He first validated a BTS before switching to university to follow a course in geography. From the height of his 20 years, Félix hopes to validate a master’s degree to work in the protection of the coast. His retirement? “If I’m in an office, at 64, it can be fine. But to contribute 40 annuities, I find that it is an absurdity. I can’t see myself doing one and the same job all these years. If I have to save, it’s to profit. I can’t see that far. »

Élise, 15 years old, high school student

She has “no idea” what she wants to do next. But she already knows what she doesn’t want to do. “Working 40 years in the same company like my parents, that’s no. There will be so much change, so much to see, to do. But I have the impression that as soon as you leave work, you start from scratch. If she retires at 64, Élise can hope to take it easy in 2072. What life does she intend to lead at that time? “I find it hard to imagine myself. But I can’t imagine it continuing like this. »


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