Day 20: the French Labor System

Today was quite interesting for lesson topics, especially since it involved politics! Our big lesson of the day was titled "the French Labor System", and it's main purpose was to inform the foreign students, like us, about the various aspects of the labor system in France, it's structure, and how it was conceived. First, we learned that many people here in france consider talking about politics to be taboo; many people will know good friends for years and years without ever knowing their political affiliation. Our lecture started with the discussion of the average work week in France. Not long ago, the French government had forbid the general population for working on Sundays. The motivation behind this wasn't for religious purposes (French is a secular-neutral state), but rather with the mindset that if people had more time off, they would have a higher life expectancy and be more productive. However, the recent conservative (liberal, in France) government has slightly changed the law to allow employers to open their doors on Sunday. This lead into the fact that the french have six paid weeks of vacation each and every year, and only work a 35 hour work week. Not long ago, the socialist party lowered the work week from 40 to 35 hours, with the thought process that if people had more free time, they would spend that free time shopping leisurely and thus, boost the economy. However, this severely backfired and now the French have their 35 hour work week that hasn't done the country any good. It produced no beneficial outcomes and resulted in a population that wouldn't allow for an increase in the hourly work week. Its a pickle. Other topics followed, such as the constitutional right to strike, which happens all too often in france. In fact, the city tram in Angers is set to open in over a week for the first time ever. To celebrate the opening, the city is allowing nine days of free travel. However, we found out today that it wont reopening because the workers are already planning a strike! There are even many cases where they hold their bosses hostage and negotiate their release with police... And aren't reprimanded for it even though it's illegal! Not many people are in trade unions, surprisingly, many people use working contracts, the official age of retirement is sixty (which may raise pretty soon), and the present unemployment rate is actually slightly higher than our own in the united states. What I have gathered from the lesson, and concluded, is that the french left have fought endlessly for a labor system that basically benefited employees while keeping their employer's hands tied. Unfortunately, many of the laws regarding the labor system have backfired and produced unwanted externalities. The current government is in the process of slightly reversing these policies, but changing many of these laws outright would be seen as changing the fabric of the lives of many french, who would never go for it.