Symbolically, the Chamber of Commerce’s back-to-school economic forum devoted to the consequences of inaction in the face of energy, technological and demographic transitions began with the latter subject--that is, demographics. Maxime Sbaihi, an economist specialising in ageing populations, “is one of the few economists to warn of the consequences of an ageing population and a falling birth rate, and is doing so at a time when Europe seems genuinely aware of the problem,” said the head of the chamber, Carlo Thelen. “His work is a benchmark in the field.”