Overview

• DIW president Marcel Fratzscher said babyboomers’ choices drove today’s crises and that younger generations now bear the costs, echoing remarks in a new interview.
• He renewed his push for a compulsory social year for retirees to involve older people more directly in community work.
• Fratzscher highlighted demographic strain, noting the shift from roughly six workers per retiree in the 1960s to about two today.
• French Prime Minister François Bayrou warned that young people will pay the boomers’ debts for life, restating the message after a TV appearance and drawing split reactions.
• Bayrou’s comments land ahead of a Sept. 8 confidence vote, while none of the high‑profile proposals in Germany or France have been enacted as formal reviews continue.