Artificial intelligence threatens jobs in France, pushing some to retrain

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Babeth Reynaud reworks each letter. For 25 years, she has been a self-employed graphic designer. Today, she is refining the cover of a music album. But a few weeks ago, suddenly, it lost its main client because of artificial intelligence. "I got a call and he said, 'We're replacing you with AI.' It was really his call and 'hope, let's move on'. Financially, it’s complicated,” she confides. Because 80% of its turnover has gone away.

There are thousands of posters generated by AI on the Internet. We brought her some of them: “Always the same little lines for some information. We lose all the graphic identities,” she laments.

Graphic designer, but also translator, telephone advisor, or legal assistant, AI could threaten five million jobs in France. Aurélie Bécat is a self-employed consultant. She supports companies in their marketing strategy. She feels that the future is uncertain: “There is a whole part of the market that is no longer accessible, because clients will use artificial intelligence tools to work on their positioning, their brands, their websites, their communications strategies, etc.,” she notes.

“Electrical needs which are increasing”

So, she made a radical choice: she trained for a new profession. “I switch from the USB key to the stripping pliers, insulated screwdriver,” she points out. Three weeks a month, alongside her work, she swaps her sneakers for safety shoes to become an electrician. She is a work-study student and learns alongside Jean-Christophe Puichot, who has 50 years of experience. This atypical profile surprises him: “It’s the first time I’ve seen that. It’s a good approach,” he admits. “Before the humanoid robots are ready to do everything that Jean-Christophe, who has been there for 50 years, can do, yes that’s for sure, we have time,” points out Aurélie.

Manual professions are the least exposed to AI. So, the factory manager expects to have more and more candidates. “There are electrical needs which are increasing, that’s certain. So this branch, yes, it’s certain that there will be a need, and there is a need for technicians in the field,” underlines Amaury Guimont, director of the Secat Energies factory.

Ultimately, Aurélie Bécat's goal is to take over a construction company. The road is still long. She hopes to go to her first sites within a month.

Among our sources:

“AI could threaten 5 million jobs in France”: Coface study / Observatory of threatened and emerging jobs (OEM) from April 2026

Non-exhaustive list.