Macron unveils plan to boost French youth, fight extremism
President Emmanuel Macron says the French government itself fueled homegrown Islamic extremism by abandoning its poorest neighborhoods—and he's promising tough and "sometimes authoritarian" new measures to combat radicalization.
Macron unveiled a multibillion-euro plan Tuesday to help France's troubled banlieues—suburban regions where crime flourishes and job opportunities are scant, especially for minorities with origins in former French colonies.
More than 5 million people live in France's poorest neighborhoods, where unemployment is 25 percent—well above the nearly 10 percent national average. For those under 30, the prospects are even worse—more than a third are officially unemployed.
Macron's answer is to provide grants for poor youths to launch startups, double the funding for public housing, expand child care, improve public transport in isolated or poor neighborhoods, offer subsidies for companies that hire disadvantaged youth and hire more local police officers.
