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British Youth has Never been Poorer
My translation of an article I published in Libération in August 2011.
In the eye of some people the hooded kids who set London suburbs on fire are the mere expression of uncontrollable mob violence. They have been blamed for not having a clear political direction and it is true that they have not been parading witty placards through the streets.
Yet, however catastrophic some individual actions have proven, they should not overshadow the general direction of the movement nor how it started: by pillaging high-tech or fashionable clothes shops. Let’s have a brief reality check: a pair of trainer shoes from a well-known brand costs £80 in London. The Job Allowance of unemployed young people under 25 amounts to £51.85 per week, and youth unemployment is over 20% at the moment. Besides, not even all young people are entitled to receive this shabby allowance: 30% of them are “inactive”, out of the job market. And only half of these are inactive because they are studying.
