A minister sparked controversy on Tuesday June 14 in the Netherlands by proposing that Dutch companies recruit young unemployed people from French suburbs to make up for the shortage of labor and “ get them
back on the right track
”.
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“
The youth unemployment rate is very high in France, especially in the suburbs.
Much higher than what we know here
,” Social Affairs Minister Karien van Gennip said in an interview with the Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad (AD).
"
I could imagine that we invest in French dropouts, or for example Spanish, who leave school, to make them work here in catering or horticulture
", she added, stressing that this would make it possible to "
put young people back on the right path
.
A “ridiculous idea” according to political opponents
Several parliamentarians immediately expressed their dissatisfaction following these remarks, describing the plan of the CDA minister of the center right as unrealizable and unfair for young unemployed Dutch people.
It is "
dangerous
" to seek out young people from the "
ghettos
", said MP Léon de Jong of the far-right PVV party.
The government should first worry about “
Rashid of Utrecht rather than Rachid of Paris
”, estimated Zohair El Yassini, deputy of the liberal party VVD.
Going to France for workers is a “
ridiculous idea
”, claimed the left-wing SP party.
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The controversy prompted the minister to explain herself during a session in parliament.
She said she stood by her words but that there was no government plan to "
fetch
" young people from the French or Spanish suburbs.
The unemployment rate is historically low in the Netherlands, 3.2% in April, according to the Central Statistical Office (CBS).