The decline in the number of births should be seen in connection with the ‘gender divergence’ between increasingly progressive young women and increasingly conservative young men, observes economist Pauline Grosjean in her column.
The number of births has continued to decline in France in 2025. The fertility rate, at 1.56 children per woman, reached its lowest level since 1918. It is true that most of France’s neighbors are faring even worse, and France still holds its – rather relative – status as a champion of birth rates. This decline is a universal and long-term phenomenon, with explanations that have shifted over time.
The initial phase, which has been the most studied, is that of the demographic transition, marked by the shift from a regime of high mortality and fertility to one of low mortality and fertility. France was already an exception, having started its demographic transition in the 18th century, before other countries. Without this early transition, some economists estimate, France’s population would today stand at 250 million.
Okay, I spent all of my late teenage years to early adulthood in France so I feel I can chime in: French people, like most Westerners I’ve met, don’t know what they should do with their lives and the burden of responsibility of having children is simply not that appealing compared to having fun, either partying and doing coke or collecting figurines and dakimakuras. Even romance and love is fucked because marriage is seen as outdated and so serious so life long monogamy, for many, is just meh or scary. People don’t date for any objective, they just get together cause they’re lonely or sexually starved. And if they do understand what they should be doing, they’ll be old and weary, and either the psychological scars will stop them from fully commiting to something or biology will have done its thing and now you’re 42 trying to have your first kid, of course it’s gonna be difficult.
Now, whilst I have my value judgement on it, I’m not making any right now, I’m just describing what I’m seeing. Hedonism, consumerism, and an ideological vacuum, means that people won’t be making big commitments like having children. Of course the Muslims will, that makes sense, no surprise over there.
PS: and no, it’s not a financial thing. The immigrants with no support or family money that goes back several generations, working shitty min wage jobs, have and want to have children. It’s an ideological difference.
The article up to the paywall is just “blame women”
The vibe I got was blame men for not being appealing enough
I’m sure their rulers are having no trouble reproducing.
The middle class is being bred out of the gene pool.
I’m really confused about what you’re trying to say, because it kind of sounds like replacement theory
No that’s not what he’s saying. He’s saying the wealthy are trying to kill the rest of us off, or at least thin the herd. Though be it on purpose or just through incompetence is the question. It’s not a crazy Theory really.
I don’t think they are, because labour and consumption, which brings them money, all go through us and require us. In this case, it’s just incompetence, I think, or it’s simply seen as unimportant for globalist capitalists because labour can be outsourced or imported.
Okay, I read it and re read it and, unless I’m mistaken, I think he meant “rich people have money for kids, whilst the middle class doesn’t”. Which I don’t necessarily agree with (ofc rich people have money and we have less and less, I agree and it sucks, but is it behind the birth rates, really?), that’s much better than just another racist take. 😅
