German Workers Fill French Building Gaps Deutsche Welle, Germany
"In France, this area is short around 300,000 specialists," said Christine Zahn, who runs the agency. Masons and carpenters are especially easy to place. The country also lacks scaffolding builders, falsework setters like Wolf and gas-water installers.
In recent years, France has had to deal with a number of construction scandals. The best-known involved the collapse of the roof of one of the terminals of Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.
French politicians are trying to lure youths into learning the construction trade in order to close the gap in the need for trade specialists, but with little success.
"They all would rather work in chic offices. They don't want to get their hands dirty," Zahn said.