Krugman lays out the dynamics in France, where student protests have roiled the country. Students protesting in France is a "dog bites man" problem; students in France protest. French people, in general, protest.
The deeper problem, as Krugman points out, is that France is facing the same problems that most post-industrial countries are starting to face, which is the collision between retirees and students. The reason students are protesting is because their schools are cheap and falling apart and their classes are too big, because there is no money to hire teachers.
France has clung stubbornly to a low retirement age (62) as compared to nations as diverse as the US and Denmark (both 67). As someone rapidly hobbling towards retirement, I do not want to see that retirement age creep upwards. However, generous public benefits to retirees are increasingly coming at the expense of benefits for children and working age people. We are robbing the future to pay the past.
Krugman also points out that France is a bit of an outlier here, and certainly the protests that are France's national pastime are contributing to a lack of political will to make the necessary changes. The bigger problem is that Marine Le Pen's fascist party is always lurking around the edges of winning a national election, and it is unlikely that she suddenly becomes a relatively responsible head of government like Georgia Meloni kind of has. It seems more likely that she will govern like Trump or Milei, which is to say poorly.
France has problems that were created by France being France, but the problem of a greying population is not unique to France.
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