by Jerome a Paris
Fri Mar 24th, 2006 at 05:56:57 AM EST

From this OECD page, linked to in a comment to this interesting post on the French protests by Emmanuel over at a Fistful of Euros.
Note that the OECD graph explicitly and appropriately states that the unemployment percentages are as a fraction of the age group labor force, while the employment rate is as a fraction of the total age group population.
The best time for both youth unemployment and overall employment was the period during which the 35-hour week was in full force, and when the 5-year "emplois jeunes" were put in place by the Jospin government. Strange, that.