France Protests Over Probationary Employment Law

20 March 2006

France Protests Against Probationary EmploymentLaw By John Pagani inParis Read John Pagani's Blog

They say the streetalways wins in French politics.

Daily for a week the Parisstreets have filled with protests organised by studentsand unions demanding 'retrait du Contrat PremièreEmbauche', or withdrawal of the 'first employment contract' law. The CPE introduces a two-year probationary period foranyone under 26 when employers could fire them for anyreason.

Opponents say making iteasier to sack people won't create any jobs, that it willincrease insecurity for young workers and make them more likely to be exploited.

The government says employers aremore likely to hire young workers when they know they canchange their minds later. The point is a strong one inFrance because it is very difficult to dismiss staff forpoor performance or even because business conditions demand cutbacks.

The CPE was one of the measures prime ministerDominique de Villepin proposed to reduce youthunemployment following the car burning riots last year. Inthe months following he became the favourite to replace Jacques Chirac as President in presidential elections nextyear. Now his popularity is being shredded.Villepin hasmanaged the almost politically impossible - for the firsttime since Mitterand the socialist party is united, and intune with the large majority of French public opinion atthat. Although it continues to languish in polls itsleaders queued at the rallies as if at a beauty contest: The socialist party leader Francois Hollande was there withhis wife Segolene Royale - both are front runners to bethe left's presidential candidate next year, along withformer culture minister Jack Lang who was also there. Theridiculous Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe was theretoo.

As the three-mile long demonstration walked throughParis' elegant streets marchers chanted in rhythmic beatwith drums keeping time, 'Chirac. Villepin.Sar-ko-zy...retrait, retrait, retrait du CPE'. The President, the Prime Minister and the right-wing populistInterior Minister. In the cool afternoon sun demonstratorswaved flags and flew balloons. Many students wore plasticbags to show the government regarded them asdisposable.

AnInvercargill iconwatches*****

It'sobvious the protesting students are largely not the samegroup of young people as the marginalised young riotersand car-torchers in the Paris banlieue, or suburbs, lastyear. Out there in the suburbs media vox pops commonlyfind unemployed Arab men and women saying a job you can befired from sounds better than not having a job at all. Still, there are few who believe there will be more jobs ina country where youth unemployment is over twenty percent,and forty to fifty percent among young suburban ethnicmen.

The general public's feeling of insecurity dominatesFrench politics. It was expressed in the furious,frustrated rejection of the European constitution at lastyear's referendum. Though average incomes in France are athird higher than New ZEaland's and its companies are prospering French workers worry about losing theiremployment protections - long holidays, a 35-hour week andsecurity.

Sixty-eightpercent of the French public oppose the CPE, according to the most recent poll on the subject. On Saturday marcheswere organised in 160 towns and cities. Organisers claimed300,000 marched in Paris; the government said 80,000. Icalculated maybe more than 100,000. (If you discounted theubiquitous media presence, the participation might havefallen by a fifth).

The huge trade union CGT is preparingfor a general strike sometime this week. It will surely goahead because the government may back down, but it willnever back down enough. So transport will gridlock, schools will close and public amenities won't function butbaguettes and croissants will still be available at theboulangerie.

This is escalating. The universities areparalysed or virtually closed.

President Chirac is alreadybeginning to sell out his protege, publicly tellingVillepin to defuse the protests and declaring 'of courseit won't be possible for people to be fired without anyreason at all.' That's not what the law says as itstands.

PM Dominique de Villepin has never been elected toanything in his life. He was handpicked from thebureaucracy by President Chirac then elevated through theministry. If he finds a way through this crisis he will bewell placed to win his first campaign, for the highest office of all. But the Paris street knows he has noemployment security. 'Better him than us', one of thechants went. And, as they say, the street usually gets itsway.

I talked to one student on Saturday who opposed theCPE but said it would make almost no difference for many.If students want a professional job they work as unpaidinterns for large corporates or organisations, hoping forpaid careers at the end. He said he's much more worriedabout the future ability of France to provide jobs at all.Taxes and the cost of living are far too high, hecomplained.

The smokeis from stands selling duck sausage with baguettes for fiveeuros.*******

As theprotestors sang and chanted they passed small barbecuestands selling little duck sausages wrapped in a baguettefor five euros each. About NZD$9.60 for a bird flu hotdog?Now there's something to protest about.

********* John Pagani isa Euro-Based commentator and former chief press secretaryfor Hon JimAnderton. Read John Pagani's Blog

ENDS

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