The French care economy: between gendered inequality and feminist idealism

The care economy in France is a site of both profound gendered inequalities and of renewed feminist idealism for an alternative social model and feminist ethic. This paper focuses on the realities of work in the elderly care sector at a moment of deepening crisis, with deteriorating conditions for both carers and the cared for. The Orpea scandal exposed how multinational corporations exploit care work for financial profit, with devastating consequences for a largely feminised and racialised workforce. Drawing on insights from ethical feminist theory, investigative journalism and documentary film, the paper explores the possibilities and limitations of the feminist ideal of a new radical politics of care. The paper draws on the documentary film Debout les femmes! as a lens with which to test the potential of the ethical feminist goal of a politicisation of care. We will see that while ethical feminists celebrate care’s transformative potential, social change to improve labour conditions is impeded by a political establishment that maintains gender inequalities in the interests of economic expediency. The paper shows how maintaining a low-cost and devalued workforce is profitable by enabling the economy to free-ride on care activities, while denying them monetary and social recognition.