Okay… well the French are getting somethings right.
Unexpected Baby Boom
Interesting to note that in the shadow of the pope, Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe. This obviousely means that Italians are heavy users of contraceptives and I can’t imagine them all to abstain from sex. Most families opt for one outrageously spoiled well dressed child, preferably a son. Also, Italy is in the forefont of reproductive research since so many woman put off having children til their late thirties early forties.
… France, with the second largest population in the EU, is engaged in what, by European standards, registers as a remarkable population boom. The nation leads in the number of newborns and has the second highest birthrate, after much smaller (and more Roman Catholic) Ireland. The results of France’s 2004 Census are out–and fresh forecasts based on the numbers paint some 75 million people into the French landscape by midcentury, compared with 62.5 million today. That’s at least 10 percent higher than the last round of forecasts, based on the 1999 Census. By contrast, Britain is stagnating, Germany is expected to lose 11 million people by midcentury and the number of I*talians may cascade from 57.5 million to a Poland-esque 43 million*. In fact, nearly all the EU’s population growth in 2003 came from France–211,000 out of 216,000.
This article doesn’t point it out and I am sure some of the more right-winged commentators will bring it up so I will pre-empt their rhetoric… YES! France does indeed have a large muslim population. However, as I recall that the birthrate is as high with the “white” French as with their Muslim french brethern. Whereas, in countries like Germany and Austria the birthrate is predominantly in the immigrant population.
France hasn’t seen anything like it since the post-war baby boom. Coming against the backdrop of a projected “birth dearth” for the rest of Western Europe, the numbers represent nothing less than what Gilles de Robien, minister of Capital Works, describes as a “thunderbolt” against the prospect of France’s historical decline. The country’s neighbors should take note. After all, few European leaders are prepared to enthusiastically embrace the alternative, less-dynamic populations, and its corollaries–less-vibrant economies, more immigration and shrinking pensions and health care. Says Gerard-Francois Dumont, Sorbonne professor and editor in chief of Population & Future magazine: “Every time I am at a conference, people want to know what is going on in France.”
‘nuf said: policy and social supports If all the so-called pro-lifers really wanted to lower the abortion rate they need to take a more holistic approach. I have nothing but scorn for Democratic pro-lifers in Congress. While they pat each other on the back for eroding Roe v Wade and turn a blind eye to GOPers cutting the budgets of Education, overtimepay, pensions, WIC, healthcare for children, afterschool programmes and Headstart… like I said Roemer, Langevin and Casey can all go to hell.
And what is going on? Like Italians, the French live in a family-friendly society. So why a French baby boom and an Italian bust? The difference apparently comes from policy and social supports that lessen pressure on would-be parents. Those who work fewer hours, have more job security, free day care and medical coverage are less likely to feel anguish over their children’s basic needs. And more than most European countries, France offers all that, not to mention generous parental leave. Compared with elsewhere, says Dumont, France “allows families to better reconcile their professional and private lives.” It’s no coincidence, he adds, that countries with the fewest familial supports, like Italy and Spain, also have the lowest birthrates.
Kinda obvious… if you look.
Such choices are common in many parts of Europe. Surveys indicate, for example, that many German women feel guilty if they work while bringing up their children. The result: German women are nearly three times more likely than French women to have no kids. “It isn’t about a tax break here and some money there. It is about covering a whole range of life–from the workplace to holidays to the home,” .
