The demonstrations in France, and in particular in Paris were pretty disruptive on Tuesday, but on Wednesday I went in and there were no interruptions. That said, it now looks like (based upon the reports on French TV, CNN, BBC and several blogs) that the Prime Minister is going to sit down and really discuss the model for an employment contract. As Americans, we probably can't understand this at all. Why? Because we can be fired at any whim of any employer. But in France, all employees, even the least stably employed have a contract that says they are employed for a year or even more. The contracts are renegotiated on a set time basis, but basically someone can't be fired or quit without giving a 3 months notice. That probably sounds crazy to us. OF COURSE I CAN QUIT WHEN EVER I want to, and who wants to keep an employee around for three months after telling them of the notice?
However, there is a completely different system in France that appears to necessitate 35-42 years minimum of employment with a given employer to qualify for retirement benefits and a significantly longer amount of time than Americans have to do, in order to qualify for the Social Security benefits.
So now look at the system that the new proposal will create. It doesn't apply to someone over 26, so it sets up a scenario where the youth are more easily fired, but also more desirable for hiring. Ask a 50 year old technician in the US how easy it is to get a new job when the plant closes down. In France under the new system, a 28 year old will have the same problem as our American 50 year old, and they are likely to have the problem, why, because a worker can be fired without cause up to age 26. So, if a business needs to cut expenses, that is a very easy expense (and a very high one because of the social security contribution) to cut. Oh sure, there is all that training investment they have made, and they don't want to lose all those good employees...Ask all of those Clermont County autoworkers how valuable all those years of training have been to them or their employers now that they are out of work.
So for now, the demonstrations are occurring, and trust me, given the size of them, they are easy to spot. If you are coming to visit, don't worry, I know all the back streets. Besides, Giverney (Monet's collection) opens this weekend, the gardens are starting to burst into bloom, the Ingres is still at the Louvre, we haven't been to the jewels exhibit at Versaille and I haven't yet seen the Pissaro/Cezanne exhibit at Musee d'Orsay. There is a lot to do, and I won't let a few demonstrations spoil our fun, but I might wear a sticker that says NON on CPE...
