The Wilmington morning star., 1946-03-24
At The Crossroads
By ECON KASKELINE


The French 'maquis" those groups Of
courageous guerrilla fighters who fought hero
ically for the liberation of their country, have
returned to civilian life-to school and uni
versity, to shop and factory. Many Of the
young men have grown with their expert
ences; they have learned self-disciplne, re-
sponsibility. and esprit de corps; they are
the future leaders Of France. But for num-
Der of others it has been proved again that
illegality and violence even in the service of
great ard noble cause are dubious prepa-
ration for the hard and tedious tasks of re-
construction. After having led the dangerous
but romantic existence of an outlaw, many
young Frenchmen find it more than difficult
to adapt themselves to their responsibilities
and, at the same time, to the narrowness
of their civilian HIVES. France has become
poor country and opportunities for career and
success are extremely limited.
What wonder that many active and vigor
Gus young Frenchmen are planning to leave
their country and to begin a new and 'rich-
er" life abroad2 More than half million
Frenchmen have declared that they intend to
emigrate. Some of them want to go to the
different parts of the French Empire, but
most OF the enaigrants are looking toward
the United States. the British Dominions, and
Latin America.
This emigration movement among the
Frencn youth is an almost revolutionary break
IN French traditions and reveals deep
change In French mentality. So far, French
men had been extremely reluctant to Quit the
soil Of douce France, even for short va
cation period. 'Why am I leavng?" asked
one OF the would-be emigrants. II am suffo<
eating at home. I am fed up with political
struggles and other inanities I want life
for myself and sor my own future
Another expression Of the moral crisis
among the French youth is the substantial in
crease in juvenile delinquency which deeply
worries French educators While 1900
young men and women appeared before
French courts in 1889, last year almost $4,000
youngsters were convicted. French school au-
thorities have so far been only moderately
successful in their attempts to curb "black
market" dealings in French educational inst-
tutions. Some schools have become centers
of ''black market activities where teen-age
boys and girls gain substantial amounts of
money by trafticking in all kinds of com.
modities. It is obvious that-after these easy
gains-the precocious dealers feel no eager
ness to study or to earn their daily bread
sin the sweat Of their faces"
Yet this light from responsibilities, these
criminal activities represent only one side of
recent developments among the French youth.
The nihilistic spirit among part of the French
youth is counterbalanced by the revival of
civic activities among them. To the better
and healthier elements among the Resistance
fighters, the close association with men of
very different social, professional, and re-
ligious background has given deeper insight
into the roots Of community life and keener
fee1ipo for {heir ord fboir
fellow citizens and toward their country.
These young men and women, many of them
being organized in the various groups Of the
French youth movement, understand that they
personally have to shoulder new tasks if their
country is to recover from the sufferings OF
war, occupation, and their aftermath. While
refusing to become part Of State-controlled
organization, the yough groups have accepted
new and difficult assignments in the service
OF the community. The departure of 600 mem
bers of the "Youth Civilian Service" recruit
ed from the youth movements. to help re-
build the completely devastated town of LIE
Havre was first step in this direction. Men,
bers Of the youth groups also formed the
Equipes dEntreaide (mutual help groups)
which are working in French hospitals, and
in displaced persons camps. These have been
helping in assisting reorientation of returning
war prisoners and labor deportees. The ac-
tivties of these youth groups which, however,
have remained autonomous, are supervised by
the Direction for Youth Movements and Popu-
lar Education in the French Ministry of Edu-
cation.
French youth are at crossroads where the
fate of the country is in the hands Of the
new generation. If they abandon their task,
weakened France may 60 down in detection
like many other once great nations in history.
But French youth may also 60 ahead and
rebuild a new and better France from the
ruins of the past and may prove again that
youth is the eternal chance for happiness of
every nation. ."-Christian Science Monitor.