Based on data from the Observatory of Inequalities, Louis Maurin opposes figures to speeches and brush the painting of many inequalities – economic, cultural, sexual – which continue to separate the French.
In Decipher the French companyLouis Maurin, journalist at Economic alternativespaints a portrait of French society and presents an inventory of its major developments. It is based on the work of the observatory of inequalities, which it directs, and which aims to provide information and analyzes on inequalities since 2003. The book constituting a vast synthesis on French society, we will not return account here of all the developments traced by the author. We will seek less to summarize his point than to expose his general approach and then to evoke his analyzes on what undoubtedly constitutes the main transversal theme of the work: the question of inequalities.
A synthetic work
Louis Maurin considers that many speeches on French society are out of step with the social reality of the country. The concentration of powers in the capital, for example, would often lead the elites to make inaccurate ideas on different social circles. The author also intends to break with journalistic approaches which often seem to him simplifying, with analyzes that make the part too good to a “ radical change And with the nostalgia for yesterday’s society. He wishes, with this book, to contribute to a knowledge of French society which is more in -depth and more empirically founded. He brings together, in this perspective, facts which allow “ decipher », To measure and analyze its developments. It brings together statistical data which emanate from various sources and publications (INSEEMinistry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Employment, Road Safety, Médiamétrie, etc.). He also mobilizes, but in a more marginal way, observations on daily life and presents the debates to which certain social issues give rise today.
This book is based on important synthetic work. In fifteen thematic chapters, he draws a panorama of French society which addresses very diverse aspects: the population, the family, the question of inequalities between men and women, immigration, the ages of life, the school, the Unemployment, inequalities, social circles, consumption, leisure, information, housing, body, insecurity, politics. The information gathered is rich and varied and the presentation is of great educational clarity: each chapter opens with a glossary and ends with a section “ benchmarks »Referring to websites of websites and bibliographic references. We also find, during the text, details on concepts of common use in social sciences and on methodological tools useful for statistical analysis.
To give an idea of the author’s approach, we can mention two chapters. Chapter 2, devoted to family metamorphoses, successively analyzes the multiplication of divorces, the decrease in the number of children per family, the increase in single -parent families and people living alone. Chapter 7, entitled “ The work and the shadow of unemployment “Describes the boom in the service sector, the degradation of the labor market from the mid -1970s and the extension of precariousness. He is interested in the transformations of working conditions, the effects of the law on thirty-five hours and raises the question of the place of work in today’s society.
An inventory on inequalities
The question of inequalities is undoubtedly the main guideline of the work. On numerous occasions, Louis Maurin recalls how behaviors vary according to social categories. He specifies, for example, that the diploma and the social category are decisive to understand electoral practices and in particular abstention. He takes up on this point the analyzes of Anne Muxel which show that “ Only 9% of holders of a diploma greater than Bac + 2 did not vote in 2007, against 19% of non-graduates “And that” 10% of managers abstained, compared to twice as many workers and employees (P. 326). Throughout the book, Louis Maurin highlights many behaviors that vary depending on the level of diploma. The listening duration of television, for example, “ The main leisure “(P. 231) of the French (“ Each Frenchman 15 and over looks an average of television more than 3.5 hours each day, according to Médiamétrie », P. 231), is very linked to the diploma level: “ Holders of a maximum study certificate are 26% to look at it more than 30 hours per week, against 5% of bac+3 (P. 233 ; The author is based here on the investigation of theINSEE “” Cultural and sports participation »From 2003). In a more original way, Louis Maurin underlines inequalities in the face of new technologies. They combine two major factors, diploma and age: in 2007, if 82% of higher graduates have a home internet connection, this is the case of 27% of non-graduates and if 92% of 12 -17 years old are a computer, 83% of 70 years and over do not have them (p. 229). The author also specifies that half of the population does not have access to the Internet.
The author is also interested in inequalities between men and women. He explains that if girls can have better results than boys in the patent and baccalaureate, they go more to sectors that lead to less well -remunerated jobs. On the job market, the author notes the elevation of the female activity rate since the 1960s while mentioning that women remain rare at the top of the hierarchy of jobs and that wage inequalities remain. In the domestic sphere, finally, the author evokes the evolutions of roles within the couple while recalling that women take care of most domestic tasks.
Louis Maurin also undertakes to highlight the great dynamics in terms of inequality in French society. He underlines that the school has become more democratic since the end of XIXe century, that progress made in the health field have benefited a large share of the population and that “ Until 2009, the standard of living continued to improve, even for the poorest (P. 179). But he also endeavors to highlight the importance of inequalities in France today. He considers, in this regard, that the media tends to overestimate the standard of living of most of the population. He specifies that in 2006 half of households receive less than 2,263 euros monthly after taxes and social benefits and that only half of the single people have, after possible social benefits, a monthly income available less than 1,340 euros . He also shows that those with an income of 3,200 euros monthly are among the richest 5%. Finally, he underlines that, since the 1990s, income inequalities have been progressing again and that, if we do not assist a “ blast Poverty, the latter has stopped reducing. He thus evokes the persistence of a very precarious condition in contemporary France. He mentions, for example, from data from theINSEE from 2004, that “ 2, 8% of French people say they have not made a full meal for at least one day in the previous two weeks (P. 170). The author also raises the weight of inequalities in terms of “ cultural capital (Pierre Bourdieu) by emphasizing the advantage that the latter can provide in today’s society. By showing that social inequalities weigh on the results of students at school, he recalls that the democratization of the school system remains unfinished. He sees in particular the effect of an education system which, by valuing academic knowledge more than technical lessons, penalizes students from the most distant environments from the school. It then signals the extent of the consequences of these inequalities in the context of a labor market which often values the diploma more than personal experience and a company which has focused on initial training more than on the permanent training.
By the many information it brings together, this book constitutes a useful synthesis on French society and inequalities. We can regret that Louis Maurin is not based on a larger number of academic research work. He little mobilizes, for example, the many recent monographs published on social groups. The latter constitute precious contributions to the understanding of contemporary French society and could certainly have, as such, still enrich its analysis. We can also regret, on reading, that certain points are not more developed. But this is undoubtedly there the counterpart of Louis Maurin’s choice to approach a wide variety of themes. In any event, this book offers a stimulating contribution to the analysis of our society: it invites you to read, reflect and work on these questions.