French President Francois Hollande recently came up with some good proposals for reforming the country’s notoriously rigid labor laws. Most of them never made it into the bill presented to his cabinet Thursday. It’s a lost opportunity his country will have cause to regret.
The original plan, strongly supported by Finance Minister Emmanuel Macron, wouldn’t have scrapped the totemic 35-hour workweek law entirely, but it would have made life much easier for France’s beleaguered employers – loosening the rules on working hours, restricting union powers and making it easier for firms to dismiss workers they don’t need. Lifting these burdens would have boosted employment and lifted the economy.
This post was published at David Stockmans Contra Corner on March 28, 2016.
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