A View from France by an Englishman, Part 3

by Glenn N. Holliman

Our third part of Terry Field's deeply penetrating essay on French history and society continues with a reflection on French labor laws.

France, the French and Why Things are as They are, Part 3 

by Terence Field written from his country maison in Normandy (below)

Pragmatism is the order of the day in English thinking, and there is an aversion to intellectualizing in political life. Each country would claim its approach to be superior.

In French life, the success of post war American economic power has not produced the admiration that was, until quite recently, commonly held in Britain. True, the British left has reservations about the perceived brutal nature of free capitalism, US -style, but this mild antipathy pales when compared to France.     

Presidents Obama and Hollande, 2014

In France the lecture that Hollande delivered in his White House speech to President Obama on the occasion of his State visit to Washington reflected much of French social attitudes. He referred to the two countries revolutions, but castigated America for not having pursued 'equality'.

France has become obsessed with equality; to a degree that even its revolutionary spirit has not previously promoted. The 'social protections' enjoyed in France are extensive, the citizen have not greatly exposed (that is until recently) to the effects of unemployment, illness, poverty in old age as some are in the US. At the same time, the un-competitiveness of much of the economy that results from these controls (and the costs the employers thus must pay) has disastrous results in terms of business closure, unemployment and low economic growth rates.

French productivity is relatively high; they are well capitalised for work, and when they do work they are productive. The restrictions on the length of the working day materially reduce the level of prosperity the country could achieve, yet - in my experience - the French in France have a much lower level of desire for material prosperity than exists in either France outside France or the UK in general. 

They seem content with what they have; and what they have, in terms of a rounded quality of life is really a very great deal indeed.

The contrast between France and the Anglo Saxons seems to be like a young man keen to work hard and long in order to earn more to buy a fancy Corvette or Mustang, compared to an older guy, who has done it, been there, and is happy pottering about in an old pickup so long as he can go off fishing when he wants to.

Paris cafe 2014

What else goes into the mix of being French today? One element, Germany, always concerns French folk. They wish to be seen as at least the equals of the Germans, and for most of the post-war period, France dictated the political agenda, and for much of that time, its 'directed' economy seemed to be doing really quite well.

 All that has gone. The failure of the French model, with the adoption of the Euro, when compared to the performance of Germany, is all too obvious.

France has an over-valued currency, noncompetitive industry, poor trade figures and hardly grows at all. It is now a problem for Germany, not its partner, and that is clear for all to see.

How do the French react to this?

Some wish to see a new protectionist government and an exit from the Euro and from the EU. That is the policy of Le Pen, the Fronte Nationale, and attracts over four in ten of all French people. Others wish a continuation of the  present and a wish for better times. Yet others wish for full integration with Germany, on the 'if you can't beat them, become them' basis of thinking.

France fears global trade as a mortal threat. It wishes for protection, but does not know how to achieve it. If Britain leaves the EU in June of this year, it will in no small measure be as a result of the slavish following of French thinking by Germany, and the lamentable results such policies have produced.

To understand French fear of the competitiveness of the world, one needs to reflect on the level of 'protection' enjoyed by its citizens. 

A young man I know, a French fellow, returned last summer from San Francisco. I asked him how he had enjoyed the experience. What most surprised him about America?  Was it the girls? no. Was it the food? no. Was it the beaches? no.

What then?

The answer came back that he was amazed that people he met had more than one job quite often at the same time. In France, he had grown up in a country where it was illegal to have more than one occupation. Illegal!

Add to this the attitude to work protection and the race/religion problem France suffers from. A short story to illustrate will illuminate.

I was, some years ago, on a train going from Paris to a town called Massy Palaiseau I was the only person on the train and I wondered why. I asked the guard, and he told me that there was a 'manifestation' set for the afternoon in Massy. This meant a political demonstration. I asked what it was about. 'It is the law allowing employers to fire young workers after up until two years of employment; they don't like it' he said.    

I left the train at Massy and was amazed; across one side of the railway tracks was a large group of white, middle class youngsters with placards saying 'down with labour law' reform. These were the kids who were in a state of semi permanent post-grad training in businesses before they decided to settle down, (usually around twenty eight to thirty years old) after which they would enjoy total employment protection by law for life. They objected to the government giving employers some control over their willingness-or otherwise - actually to do a day's work.

On the other side of the tracks, a massive group of, in the main, French Arab young people, in general unemployed, and super-keen to get a job, and thus fully in support of the governments loosening of the labour employment laws; they expected it would help employers get the courage to make the decision to hire them.

In the middle were the CRS - the French riot police.

Both groups were entirely peaceful. There was no trouble. It was a peaceful demonstration.

Who do you think the riot police charged with drawn truncheons? Yes, you guessed it.

The Arab kids supporting the government reforms.

This is the country of Dreyfus, and things change very slowly here.

Soon, Part 4 of Terry's learned five-chapter analysis of France today....comments welcome.