In Reunion, 91,000 people encounter difficulties in writing French

An INSEE study looked at the problems of mastering written French in Reunion. The work showed that the phenomenon affected men and people over 45 more.

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In 2022, nearly 91,000 inhabitants of Réunion experienced difficulty mastering the French language in writing. The phenomenon concerns in particular 17% of Reunion Islanders aged 18 to 24. For comparison, the national average is 10% and the figure recorded in all overseas territories reaches 24%, showed an INSEE study relayed by Meeting The First this Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

Disparities exist

This concerns people who have difficulty reading, writing or understanding a text. However, the entire population of Reunion Island is not affected in the same way by the phenomenon. Men and people over 45 are therefore more likely to experience difficulties.

People who left school without a diploma or whose parents are in this situation are over-represented. One of the specificities of Reunion Island is that many children speak Creole in the family sphere. INSEE indicated that it was unable to establish what effect this factor had on mastery of writing.