French labor reforms forced through
Print Edition
FRENCH Prime Minister Manuel Valls bypassed parliament yesterday to force through labor reforms that have sparked four months of strikes and street protests.
“This country is too used to mass unemployment,” Valls told parliament as many members booed and several walked out.
He said a “coalition of immobility” had stymied the reforms, which aim to reduce unemployment by freeing up the job market — notably by making it easier for employers to hire and fire staff.
It was the second time the government used the rarely invoked 49-3 clause in France’s constitution — that allows for reform by decree — for the package of reforms as it could not count on the votes of legislators on the Socialist Party’s left.
The labor bill now returns to the Senate before its definitive adoption by the lower house on July 22 — when Valls is expected to again resort to the 49-3 maneuver.
In the streets, meanwhile, protesters staged their 12th show of opposition to a package seen as too pro-business and a threat to workers’ rights.
However, the numbers were down from previous protests.
A Paris protest drew up to 7,500 people according to police and 45,000 according to the CGT union.
Demonstrations peaked on March 31 at 390,000 people across the country, according to official figures, while the unions claim the figure was 1.2 million.
Unemployment in France stands at a stubborn 10 percent overall, but for young people the figure is closer to 25 percent.
Union and student-backed demonstrations against the reforms began nearly four months ago, with some protests descending into violence.
The worst was in Paris on June 14, just four days after the start of the Euro 2016 football championships, when around 40 people were hurt and dozens arrested.
MPs have 24 hours to decide whether to call a vote of no confidence in Valls’ government, which the right-wing opposition has already ruled out.
The government survived a vote of no-confidence by a comfortable margin over its use of the 49-3 clause in May.
President Francois Hollande, who faces re-election next April, had hoped for a signature reform to reverse his dire approval ratings.
But pressure from the street, as well as parliament’s back benches, caused the government to water down the proposals, which only angered bosses while failing to satisfy the unions.
The main sticking point has been a measure giving precedence to agreements negotiated between companies and their staff over deals reached with unions across entire industrial sectors — notably on working hours.
“Compromise was possible, it was even within reach,” said Christian Paul, head of the Socialist rebels.
Pierre Gattaz, head of the employers’ federation MEDEF, said last week he was “very disappointed” with the bill in its watered-down form, calling it a “monument of complexity, absolutely illegible” for small and medium-sized businesses.
Last week the Senate approved a more business-friendly version of the legislation, but when the two houses fail to agree a text, as in this case, the National Assembly has the final say.
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