Engineers pessimistic about the reindustrialization of France

Only 16% of engineers, students and young graduates of the Arts et Métiers school believe that the reindustrialization of the country is "on the right track", according to the 2nd edition of a study conducted by the Ensam alumni association in partnership with Ifop.

The survey revealed that the 1.880 engineers, students and young graduates of Arts et Métiers surveyed "are losing faith in industrial recovery", the association wrote in a statement.

They are far more pessimistic than the French on this issue: 32% of the thousand French people interviewed by Ifop in an online survey conducted from September 17 to 18 using the quota method, believed that the reindustrialization of France is on the right track.

The revival of industrial activity in France, which was elevated to the status of a priority during Emmanuel Macron's two terms after decades of decline, continued to slow down in the first half of 2025.

Industrial activity is now hovering around 10% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to 17% in 1995. The slowdown is also taking place elsewhere in Europe, but it is particularly marked in France.

Less than half of the French people surveyed in the Ifop poll consider that France "remains a major industrial power", and 43% of engineers.

To reverse the trend, they believe that the "absolute priority" is to simplify administrative standards and procedures, but that it is also necessary to boost the attractiveness of the sector to young people, strengthen the protection of the European market, reduce taxation, and lower the cost of labor.

However, they are ambivalent about artificial intelligence: less than half see it as an opportunity to seize, and the vast majority expect it to revolutionize their industry.

"When you ask business leaders, they ask for stability, a direction, a vision in terms of training and innovation," Stéphane Gorce, president of the Arts et Métiers Engineers Society, also told AFP.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.