Overview
- The États généraux de la lecture unveiled 15 recommendations and urged a ten‑year plan to “re‑enchant” reading, presenting the report at the Montreuil youth book fair.
- Education Minister Édouard Geffray said the decline in reading “is not a fatality” and called for urgent mobilization by schools and families.
- The Culture and Education ministries said the report will anchor a coordinated roadmap and that financing options include applying a polluter‑pays principle to digital actors.
- Studies cited show 7‑ to 19‑year‑olds read about 19 minutes daily versus more than three hours on screens, and 20% of youths—rising to 38% among 16‑ to 19‑year‑olds—do not read for leisure.
- The consultation engaged over 36,000 participants, highlighted a steep drop in reading among middle‑school boys and a strong feminization of readers, and framed reading as both an educational and public‑health priority.