French riots

[MGC]

I spent the morning watching Fox News. They covered the French riot in Paris. Ah the French, seem like they have a riot once or twice a year. This time they are protesting changes to the labor laws. Do the French not realize that they have some of the best pro worker laws in the world?...MGC

[greeng13]

the protests are from a new law that allows employers to fire without cause anyone under the age of 26 within a 2 year trial period...it used to be that once someone was hired they "had a job for life" i believe.

i had a long reply to this post but somehow clicked the wrong button and erased it and it took me awhile to compile my response...but look at this website

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/19/news/france.php

and this quote from it which explains why there is unrest amongst the youth:

The measure, set to go into effect in April, would allow employers to lay off new workers younger than 26 in the first two years of their contract without cause. Protesters say the law erodes vital employment rights and could be turned into a charter to exploit young workers.

If Villepin did weaken the terms of the contract to defuse the opposition - either by shortening the tryout period to one year from two years or by making it more complicated to lay off workers - Villepin would make employers less interested in hiring young workers, destroying the reason he introduced the contract in the first place.

"Watering-down the contract could be a quick escape route for Villepin," said Emmanuel Rivière, director of political research at TNS-Sofres, a polling firm. "But that would be political liability for him, too, because then the contract probably wouldn't do as much to lower unemployment."

and the reason why they believe it would lower unemployment among the youth (currently at like 19% i think although this says more like 25%):

Villepin pushed through the law to ease chronic high unemployment, particularly among the young, where one in four is out of work in France, and in the suburbs, where youth unemployment runs as high as 50 percent and helped to fuel an outburst of rioting last year.

Pressure on the government to make changes also comes from foreign and French investors, who say the economy cannot reach robust levels of growth until businesses have the confidence to hire workers when times are good because they have the flexibility to shed others during an economic downturn.

But Villepin's plan has come unstuck as union members fight to retain job security and students accuse the government of age discrimination and of leaving them vulnerable to unscrupulous employers.

so yes they do have great labor laws except that many employers are hesitant to hire new workers because then they would be bound by law to keep them

one argument is that the french society is comfortable with mediocrity (this is just an opinion i read in the WSJ last week--sorry no link and the rag has since gone to the recycling center) in that many settle for the first job they ever get in life....

i personally have a feeling that the riots from last year are also helping to fuel some "opportunistic" vandalism as many of these peaceful protests against the new law have turned violent.

so much for my short reply

[nholley]

The French will strike/riot at the drop of a hat. I have been out there during strikes and the entire place just shuts down. While they (And other European countries) have some great Labor laws they seem to be making some valid points.

[greeng13]

The French will strike/riot at the drop of a hat. I have been out there during strikes and the entire place just shuts down. While they (And other European countries) have some great Labor laws they seem to be making some valid points.

who is making the valid points? the gov't or the students? (just not too clear on your viewpoint)

[Janice]

I wonder how the French would deal with what we are going thru with the illegals. I wonder if they sould symphasize with them and listen to their demands? Here we have the illegals demonstrating.

I feel sorry for the students. They have no job security with this new law. To be let off for no apparent reason would scare anyone.

[greeng13]

I wonder how the French would deal with what we are going thru with the illegals. I wonder if they sould symphasize with them and listen to their demands? Here we have the illegals demonstrating.

I feel sorry for the students. They have no job security with this new law. To be let off for no apparent reason would scare anyone.

since that thread was locked (our--the US--immigrant thread) i will say only this...they (France) did have an uprising within the immigrant populaton last year but those were from those that had legally been granted residency status.

[nholley]

who is making the valid points? the gov't or the students? (just not too clear on your viewpoint)

I think the workers actually have a valid point given that the labor laws over there are so "generous." The more valid point coming out from the employers is that there are many companies that end up going out of business because it is almost impossible to let one or two employess go in order to save the company. While I can see and appreciate both sides of the arguement I feel it is wrong to try to toughen up one area of the employment law. If tweaking is required then all areas should be tweaked not just the area regarding youth employment.

Why should it be easier to remove a younger worker than the worker that has been there for 20 years? Laws for dismissal should be equal.

And to answer Janice's question regarding the French and Immigration, the French have a terrible Immigration problem mainly stemming from North African nations that were former French colonies. Spend any time in any major Southern French city and you will see the size of the problem. Marseille is one of the worst hit. A beautiful old city that seems to always be ready to explode. The tensions between the French and the Immigrants are always high. It is not just France though....Spain, Italy and the UK are all suffering. The open borders that arrived with the formation of the EU makes it easier to travel and therefore easier for Illegal Immigrants to move around. I have not yet seen "illegals" demonstrate over there but the Immigrants "illegal or otherwise" usually show any displeasure with a good old fashioned riot and car burning session. The French don't listen to anyone so a demonstration is just a waste of time.