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>France has had huge problems recently because they have strong 'workers rights'. [citation needed] France is doing fine. They laid off thousands in the Auto

by danssig 15y ago

>France has had huge problems recently because they have strong 'workers rights'. [citation needed] France is doing fine. They laid off thousands in the Auto industry when they were in trouble. "Strong workers rights" isn't a "problem", it's a trade off. It has good sides and bad sides. IMO, more good than bad and I think this Zygna scandal just reinforces that.

corford 15y ago
I'm sorry, I live in France and that simply isn't true. French labour laws and the accompanying tax system are the key causes behind France's huge problem with youth unemployment and a cripplingly bloated and inefficient public sector (google Aurélie Boullet). Add the powerful transport and general workers unions in to the mix (who's members go on strike at least bi-monthly) and you can see that the French labour market has some serious problems. The above is why the auto-entrepreneur scheme (introduced by Sarkozy) is such a runaway success as it gives individuals a chance to bypass all this bullshit.
- danssig 15y ago
  I live next door and see plenty of French news and they don't appear in any more trouble than anyone else. Do you realize that the first world country most opposite (the US) has around 20% unemployment?
  - corford 15y ago
    In France, over 50% of the working population are fonctionnaires (civil servants), if the unions and labour laws weren't as inflexible as they are, this figure would be a lot less and the unemployment numbers would rise accordingly. You might say that the current state of affairs is preferable to that but the problem is that France is slowly choking to death and faces huge structural problemls in the near future. The public sector has massive unfunded pension liabilities (because virtually all of France works partly or fully on the "black" due to the crippling tax regime) and the young working population are shut out from the majority of higher paying professional jobs as these are all occupied by unsackable (often unionised) career workers that still expect a job for life. Meritocracy plays second fiddle to who you know and what connections your family has.
- rhizome 15y ago
  If France has such "crippling" problems, how are they able to act with Germany as the financial anchors of the EU?
  - corford 15y ago
    They aren't. France has lost its triple A rating and Germany is dictating the terms at the moment
    - rhizome 15y ago
      Is it OK if I don't consider S&P ratings to be 100% credible?
  - infinite8s 15y ago
    Because the rest of the EU is much worse off. How do you think Italy and Greece got their crippling debt burdens?

by danssig 15y ago

corford 15y ago

I'm sorry, I live in France and that simply isn't true. French labour laws and the accompanying tax system are the key causes behind France's huge problem with youth unemployment and a cripplingly bloated and inefficient public sector (google Aurélie Boullet). Add the powerful transport and general workers unions in to the mix (who's members go on strike at least bi-monthly) and you can see that the French labour market has some serious problems. The above is why the auto-entrepreneur scheme (introduced by Sarkozy) is such a runaway success as it gives individuals a chance to bypass all this bullshit.

danssig 15y ago
I live next door and see plenty of French news and they don't appear in any more trouble than anyone else. Do you realize that the first world country most opposite (the US) has around 20% unemployment?
- corford 15y ago
  In France, over 50% of the working population are fonctionnaires (civil servants), if the unions and labour laws weren't as inflexible as they are, this figure would be a lot less and the unemployment numbers would rise accordingly. You might say that the current state of affairs is preferable to that but the problem is that France is slowly choking to death and faces huge structural problemls in the near future. The public sector has massive unfunded pension liabilities (because virtually all of France works partly or fully on the "black" due to the crippling tax regime) and the young working population are shut out from the majority of higher paying professional jobs as these are all occupied by unsackable (often unionised) career workers that still expect a job for life. Meritocracy plays second fiddle to who you know and what connections your family has.
rhizome 15y ago
If France has such "crippling" problems, how are they able to act with Germany as the financial anchors of the EU?
- corford 15y ago
  They aren't. France has lost its triple A rating and Germany is dictating the terms at the moment
  - rhizome 15y ago
    Is it OK if I don't consider S&P ratings to be 100% credible?
- infinite8s 15y ago
  Because the rest of the EU is much worse off. How do you think Italy and Greece got their crippling debt burdens?