FRANCE: AROUND 50,000 WORKERS MARCH THROUGH PARIS IN PROTEST AGAINST FRENCH GOVERNMENT PLANS TO RELAX THE 35-HOUR WEEK

Record ID: 646625

  • Title: FRANCE: AROUND 50,000 WORKERS MARCH THROUGH PARIS IN PROTEST AGAINST FRENCH GOVERNMENT PLANS TO RELAX THE 35-HOUR WEEK
  • Date: 5th February 2005
  • Summary: (EU) PARIS, FRANCE (FEBRUARY 5, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. FLAG AND PAN TO DEMONSTRATION / WIDE VIEW OF DEMONSTRATION 0.09 2. VARIOUS DEMONSTRATORS (2 SHOTS) 0.20 3. DEMONSTRATORS MARCHING WITH BANNERS AND HOLDING FLAGS (2 SHOTS) 0.55 4. (SOUNDBITE) (French) WORKER CYRIL GACHE, SAYING: "We are here to defend the 35-hour work week and for the improvement of our purchasing power which has decreased in the last years." 1.03 5. VARIOUS DEMONSTRATORS HOLDING BANNERS AND FLAGS / DEMONSTRATORS CHANTING: "35-hour work, 35-hour work, yes, yes, yes" (4 SHOTS) 1.33 6. (SOUNDBITE) (French) CFDT REPRESENTATIVE DIDIER LEFEVRE, SAYING: "It has been proved, economic institutes have proved that the 35-hour work week, introduced in 1999, has generated jobs. Today, we intend to say the opposite but we at the CFDT, are convinced that it is not true. We've defended this project for a long time, we are attached to it and that is why we are here today." 1.54 7. BRITISH TAXI WITH DEMONSTRATOR SITTING ON TOP OF CAR HOLDING FLAG 2.06 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 20th February 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Reuters ID: LVAAPS7XSWAZ00HYOHW7HTQ7G32D
  • Story Text: Thousands of French protest proposed longer working
    hours.


    Some 50,000 workers marched through Paris on
    Saturday (February 5) to protest government plans to relax
    the 35-hour work week and show their determination to
    resist reforms by President Chirac's government.

    Protesters holding banners and chanting "35 hour work,
    35 hour work, yes, yes, yes" marched from Republique Square.

    A representative of the CFDT union said, "It has been
    proved, economic institutes have proved that the 35-hour
    work week, introduced in 1999, has generated jobs. Today,
    we intend to say the opposite but we at the CFDT, are
    convinced that it is not true. We've defended this project
    for a long time, we are attached to it and that is why we
    are here today."
    Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin's conservatives say
    rules governing the working week must be relaxed to help
    cut unemployment, currently close to 10 percent, and make
    the world's fifth largest economy more competitive.

    But unions say the bill will sound the death knell of
    the 35-hour week and force workers to put in extra hours
    without extra pay.

    Deputies from the Socialist opposition joined the
    protesters to help defend the 35-hour week, which was
    introduced in 1998 under a Socialist-led government.

    A recent poll showed some 77 percent of workers
    surveyed wanted to keep their working week at the current
    level. Only 18 percent wanted to work longer hours.

    Raffarin is wary of large public protests after voters
    punished his government for unpopular economic cutbacks in
    regional and European Parliament elections last year.

    Although no elections are due before 2007, the
    cash-strapped government is concerned French voters could
    express their anger about reforms when they vote in a
    referendum on the European Union constitution before the
    summer.

    Raffarin and President Chirac have urged voters to
    approve the treaty on its merits and not allow themselves
    to be side-tracked by domestic political issues.

    Raffarin needs to find a balance between the demands of
    disgruntled employers --many of whom who say the 35-hour
    week makes France less competitive-- and unions who say the
    shorter working week is a prize worth fighting for.

    The proposed reform would allow workers to put in more
    than 35 hours a week in return for more pay if they reach a
    collective accord with their management. They could work up
    to 48 hours a week, the maximum allowed under EU
    regulations.

    Unions argue that many firms' parlous financial
    situation will prevent them from letting employees work
    overtime for more money and that company bosses could force
    staff against their will to work extra hours without extra
    pay.

    Parliament started debating the reform on Tuesday
    (February 1st) and the government is certain to pass the
    law with majorities in both house of Parliament, the
    National Assembly and the Senate.

    The debate over the 35-hour week gained steam in recent
    months after some French workers --like some of their
    colleagues in Germany-- agreed to work longer hours in an
    effort to save their jobs.

    While most economists agree that worktime flexibility
    would help businesses, many point out that companies do not
    seem to have a great demand for extra work time at present.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register