France, Feb. 20 -- In 2025, there were more than 120,000 vacant restaurant jobs, according to state employment agencyFrance Travail. And since the Covid-19 pandemic, staff turnover has exceeded 50 percent.

It's a picture recognised by Valentina Costantino, who owns an Italian restaurant in Paris's 15th arrondissement, in the southwest of the city. She says she struggles to keep new employees.

"Theycome for a trial day, but in the endthey'retoo tired. Luckily, I manage to find a few extras who are studying and therefore need to work. But sometimesI'mon my own, I have no choice."

For one 23-year-old former waitress who prefers to remain anonymous, working conditions explain the high turnover in the sector. She says she finally had enough...