More French youth turn optimistic after pandemic: survey

PARIS, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Young people in France are more positive about their current life and future prospects than they were during the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Institute of Youth and Popular Education (INJEP) said on Tuesday citing a recent survey.

The pandemic has had a severe impact on the mental health of the country's youth as job contracts were not renewed and the country transitioned to online education. The current year has brought further pressure: the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the increase in inflation.

Asked to describe their state of mind in 2022, 48 percent of the young respondents used positive words against 33 percent, who were pessimistic.

Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed said that their actual life corresponds to their expectations for 2022 -- the highest level of satisfaction ever measured since the survey was launched in 2016, the institute said.

As about their expectations for the next five years, the female respondents were more negative than the males.

According to the INJEP, this could be due to the fact that women have a less favorable professional and financial situation, and also that they have to take care of their children when they are a single parent.

The INJEP and the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (CREDOC) have carried out the so-called DJEPVA Barometer on Youth annually since 2016.