Jacques Chirac today succumbed to the pressure of student protesters and withdrew the law that would have permitted employers in France to dismiss without cause workers under the age of 26 within their first two years of employment. Mr. Chirac had last week offered to shorten the "probation" period to one year and to place requirements on the reasons for dismissal. Neither of these concessions was acceptable to the protesters.
From the New York Times online story:
Julie Coudry, president of the Student Confederation, one of the organizations behind the two-month protest movement said on LCI television: "Today I think we can say that they have finally understood and that we are satisfied, I think it's the word we can use."
Congratulations on your satisfaction, Ms. Coudry. I suggest you find a vintage Gauloise to light up in celebration.
You've clearly beaten precarité ("precariousness") once and for all! Nothing but lifetime employment and securité from here on out! Vive la France!
My question is, now what?
Think the rest of the world is gonna stand still? Think our friends in China and India are at all interested in your desire to continue living your life in an economically unsustainable manner? I heard one of the protesters say that they are not interested in living in a society governed by "unchecked capitalism." Well, as Professor Lennon (not Lenin) once said:
You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
Any time you're ready to let us know how you all intend to pay for the lives you've imagined for yourselves, we're all ears.
Cross-posted at The TrueTalk Blog.