April 10, 2006
Dominique de Villepin, his poll numbers down as a result of the student protest and subsequent "victory" over his youth employment law, now finds his own job security in question:
Opposition politicians and many protesters have called for Villepin to resign. Until the crisis gained momentum, Villepin was considered a leading candidate for the French presidency next year.
On TV tonight, he denied that his presidential prospects had suffered, telling TF-1 television he had never been interested in the job, Reuters reported.
Ah the dark irony. Of course such humor is apparently lost on the French, who seem content to consign their country to the ash heap of history. No law against that of course. A country is free to choose economic suicide if they want. But the absolute sterility of the French youth is stunning.
Joblessness is endemic among the 15-24 age-group in France.
About 23% are registered as unemployed - an extremely high figure by international standards. Many more youths are not even looking for work.
Not only does France create few entry-level jobs - but most are being offered on a casual basis.
The reasons for the lack of good jobs are many and complex. Mr Torres says a university system divorced from the world of business is one factor.
"Typically French youths come out of four or five years in universities with no work experience whatsoever," he says.
Furthermore, employers are reluctant to hire as shedding staff is cumbersome and risky.
"The legal uncertainty surrounding dismissals is a major source of labour rigidity and that may explain why employers are loathe to give permanent contracts," Mr Torres adds.
Whatever the cause, the result is that the young in France crave job security above all - 75% say they want to be public servants.
This explains their opposition to the government's plan, which is aimed at making labour markets more fluid.
By not releasing employers from the shackles of the employed, the students have all but ensured a further stagnation of French business, and a continuance of contract labor. A day's pay for a day's work, and no security to speak of. And that's probably why they all want to work for the government.
As the Wall Street Journal muses, France's inherent wealth may save them for a while, but the slow death will only accelerate with time.
France remains a wealthy country, and its economic decline can be masked for a time as it lives off accumulated capital. But already the promises that its unions have extracted from the government seem unlikely to be kept. A growth rate of between 1% and 2% a year won't be enough to finance the pensions and health care of an aging nation. And facing up to those facts will require an increasingly painful political reckoning.
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.zeropointblog.com/blog-mt/mt-tb.fcgi/54
