As the virus crisis drags on, the hard struggle of French youth

PARIS (AP) – One recent evening, Leïla Ideddaim waited to receive a bag of food, along with hundreds of other young French people who fail to reach the two heads. He saw the chitchat that accompanied the pamphlet as a welcome byproduct, given its intense isolation during the pandemic.

The 21-year-old student in hotel and restaurant management has seen his plans rolled over due to the virus crisis. With restaurants and tourist sites closed and France under a curfew at 6pm, his career prospects are uncertain. It’s hard to get weird jobs that were supposed to keep her going through her studies.

“I’m in a fog,” said Ideddaim, who moved to Paris last year and is now struggling to meet her basic and emotional needs.

She is not alone. The long lines of young people waiting for food aid that spread through the neighborhoods of Paris several times a week are a dramatic symbol of the toll the coronavirus has suffered on young French people.

The pandemic has devastated economies around the world and pushed people vulnerable to poverty or tilt some in for the first time. In France, the economic consequences have weighed particularly heavily on young people, and their problems have only been exacerbated by study interruptions and social interactions.

Almost a quarter of young French people do not find work, twice and a half the national unemployment rate and one of the highest of the 27 nations in the European Union. Many college students now rely on food aid and several organizations have come together to meet the need.

The pandemic has led to an increase in mental health complaints that authorities say are more acute in the unemployed, in financial difficulties and in young adults. A telephone line dedicated to students has seen an increase in calls and young people have entered psychiatric wards.

As French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged, “it’s hard to be 20” in coronavirus times.

Other European countries have also observed a particularly strong toll for young people. In Belgium, some areas help students to help them pay for food, rent, transportation and psychological help. In Germany, a study at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf found that approximately one in three children suffers from pandemic-related anxiety, depression, or has psychosomatic symptoms such as headaches or stomach aches.

For Ideddaim, who needs to be supported, the pandemic means a spreadsheet that doesn’t always add up. Each month, he needs more than 800 euros ($ 970) for housing, transportation and utility bills. He could not get a well-paid apprenticeship because the restaurants are closed and the hotels are in a precarious situation.

Instead, internships at a campsite 45 kilometers east of Paris contribute 300 euros a month and alleviate their isolation. He also makes money with occasional temporary jobs in malls. Still, almost all of his savings have been spent.

“I make a Google sheet and every month I leave the expenses and fixed costs. So I look at how much it comes in and calculate what I have left and where I can tighten my belt, for example, when I eat, ”he said.

Ideddaim is just one of the many needy students that Linkee caters to, an organization that has long collected and distributed unused food to combat waste, but recently turned its attention to students.

Farid Khelef, 28, came from Algeria to study in France. I wouldn’t have imagined that one day I was expecting food aid.

“I used to work as an electrician in parallel with my studies. Due to the health crisis, I haven’t had a job for almost four months, ”he said as he waited for a Linkee bag.

The organization began offering fresh food and food to students in October, and its newsletters twice a week serve about 500 people, up from 200.

“We are a safety net for all these students … who don’t have enough money to buy food and have no choice but to come and get quality food and at the same time find a nice environment,” said Julien Meimon. the president of the organization.

With a smile, Ideddaim showed off her bag full of salad, cauliflower, apples, smoked salmon, yogurt and chocolate. But it comes to the food distribution site to get more than just a staple food.

“It’s a big moral boost: knowing that I’m going to eat well and get to a place with a lot of people and everyone is in a good mood,” he said.

With only three weeks of face-to-face classes since September and being new to the city, she has struggled to create the social connections that are essential to building an adult life.

“It’s not been easy to integrate, to meet people,” he said. Meanwhile, she enjoys chatting on the phone with her grandmother, who also lives alone, and is looking forward to working this summer at the Atlantic station in Biscarrosse, as long as the restaurants reopen.

Many young people also struggle. Nightline in Paris, a hotline for students, has experienced a 40% increase in calls since the country entered its first closure in March.

Depression among people aged 18 to 24 has risen from 16.5% in early April to 31.5% in November, during the country’s second closure, according to the French national health agency, Sante Publique France.

Authorities have become aware of the problem and, as of this month, have asked universities to allow students to return to classes one day a week to help them regain some sense of normalcy. Institutions have also started providing 1 euro meals.

There are concerns that the pandemic could have long-term effects on young people. In the UK, the think tank at the Institute for Tax Studies estimated that young people will have lost more than half a year of face-to-face learning, or more than 5% of their total time in school, by the end of last year. national blockade of the country. The loss of education could reduce the average lifetime income by £ 40,000 ($ 55,325) per student, he estimated.

Ideddaim, who prefers to look for the brightest part, said she feels privileged to get food aid.

“This kind of help doesn’t exist in many countries and we’re lucky to have it in France,” he said.

___

Samuel Petrequin in Brussels, Danica Kirka in London and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.

___

Follow pandemic AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.