High social tension in European countries after the coronavirus crisis

We see three objective reasons why we should expect high social tension in euro-zone countries after the coronavirus crisis. The labour market polarisation will worsen in the aftermath of the crisis: manufacturing jobs will disappear, to be replaced by high-skilled jobs in the technological sectors and by unsophisticated and low-paid jobs in domestic services. This will mean higher income inequalities and even lower social mobility. Companies' difficulties (increased debt, lower profits, lower productivity as a result of the new health standards) will lead to greater wage austerity, increased rather than reduced offshoring, price rises and therefore lower purchasing power. Some business sectors (automotive, aeronautics, air transport, traditional retail, restaurants, culture, etc.) will be in very great difficulty despite government aid, resulting in an inevitable rise in unemployment, while other sectors (technology in the broad sense, healthcare) will, on the contrary, enjoy strong business growth and experience bottlenecks and recruitment difficulties.