France's decline is partly due to the disappearance of science knowledge

The signs of France’s “decline” are well known: low employment rate for adults and young people, shrinking industry, growing external deficit, declining income relative to that of more prosperous countries. We believe this decline is strongly linked to the decline in the science knowledge of the French, which is well documented by various surveys. A comparison of OECD countries clearly shows this link between science knowledge, the situation of industry, employment and the trade balance. And the latest developments (difficulties in recruiting science teachers) are not reassuring.