Jonah Goldberg has a good piece on why the French are having such great problems with their economy. Jonah notes that even when the government makes a move to jumpstart competition within the workforce by passing a law that allows employers to fire workers under the age of 26 who don't actually perform their job duties, they run into violent protest amongst the college crowds at France's major universities not to mention their fellow union brethren. It's amazing that the educated members of French society are so willing to keep their economy in a stupor just to keep their precious welfare state going but then again we are talking about the French. Anyway, I thought Jonah put it well when he noted:
In response to the hint of "flexibility," students at the Sorbonne rioted with the aid of France's powerful labor unions. Fifty-eight percent of French voters now believe the First Employment Contract should be repealed.Well said Jonah.
The Sorbonne takeover is the most interesting and revealing part of the story because these are the best students France has to offer. In other words, these kids should have the least trouble finding work. But they're revolting because they understand that France isn't an egalitarian society — French propaganda notwithstanding. It is a system designed to lavish job protections, perks and, most of all, the French "lifestyle" on the upper-middle class. France pretends to be a great civilization, but in reality it wants to be an Epcot Center attraction, a "FranceLand" where everything is comfortable and protected. Liberating the job market, even a tiny bit, threatens a system designed to keep the French upper crust from working too hard and to keep those brown-skinned and lower-class slobs out of the best jobs and cocktail parties.
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