France hit by mass protests

**bigfootedfred** · March 28, 2006, 11:09 AM

Hundreds of thousands of people are demonstrating across France against the government's controversial new youth employment laws.
Fighting broke out as protesters gathered in Paris,
and missiles were hurled at police as they moved into the crowds to try to remove troublemakers.
The BBC's Jon Sopel in Paris said the protest was initially mainly peaceful, but the mood had deteriorated.
A nationwide strike has also caused travel chaos throughout the country.

As the trouble erupted in the Place de la Republique in Paris, our correspondent said his BBC crew had also come under attack, although he added the violence had remained "low-level" so far.

Extra riot police were deployed before the march, after a rally in Paris last week led to running battles.
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy told them to only get tough with those he called delinquents.
"My first instruction is that you protect the demonstrators, especially the youngest ones," he said.
"The second instruction is to arrest as many thugs, that means delinquents, as you can."

source

Heh thosse french...

**westy159** · March 28, 2006, 11:11 AM

Good on the french
We (british) should be doing this too every time government passes stupid laws but we are both too lazy and not enough of us understand or care about politics.

**Last Roman** · March 28, 2006, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by westy159

Good on the french
We (british) should be doing this too every time government passes stupid laws but we are both too lazy and not enough of us understand or care about politics.

I think it is the wrong way of going about it. Yes you should stand up and say what you think, but these riots are just like babies throwing temper tantrums.

**westy159** · March 28, 2006, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by Last Roman

I think it is the wrong way of going about it. Yes you should stand up and say what you think, but these riots are just like babies throwing temper tantrums.

Its the only way to get noticed...

**Bwaho** · March 28, 2006, 03:54 PM

yeh I can't see what their protesting about either. The new laws will mean a more flexible work market, so while you may lose one job it's easy to find another.

**~~Legiondude~~** · March 28, 2006, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by Bwaho

yeh I can't see what their protesting about either. The new laws will mean a more flexible work market, so while you may lose one job it's easy to find another.

flexilbe marked mean les job security, mean you don't know how your future will be etc...

I think that the reason the french have so long vecations is couse then more people get work..
Think that its the govrnments way of reducing unenployment

**Sidus Preclarum** · March 28, 2006, 02:44 PM

W00t.
I Got tear-gased today.
Wrong place at the wrong moment (the police station is on the way to the hairdresser, and it was surrounded by youth...)

**Kanaric** · March 28, 2006, 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by Sidus Preclarum

W00t.
I Got tear-gased today.
Wrong place at the wrong moment (the police station is on the way to the hairdresser, and it was surrounded by youth...)

OH you are SOOO lucky!!!

I hope these pro-illegal immigration people in the US start rioting so I can have my chance!

**Justinian** · March 28, 2006, 03:17 PM

I may not understand France's economic situation terribly well, but isn't the law sort of necessary?

French people work, what, 32 hours a week? 35? Six weeks of vacation? 2/3 of their salary on retirement? It's almost impossible to fire anyone? Someone is getting the short end of the stick in that deal (are immigrants protected by the same job laws as French natives?). Plus, as things currently are, unemployment is high because once you get a job in France, it seems hard to get fired.

The way the system works right now, my laymen's opinion is that the economy will rapidly stagnate if nothing happens . . . so shouldn't people be recognizing the laws as a necessity (though I would be pretty ****** if I actually had to work ... come on, 35 hours a week?)

**Justinian** · March 28, 2006, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by Sidus Preclarum

W00t.
I Got tear-gased today.
Wrong place at the wrong moment (the police station is on the way to the hairdresser, and it was surrounded by youth...)

Haha, Sidus got tear gassed, haha.

**Agraes** · March 28, 2006, 03:51 PM

Well, our country is very singular on this point. Syndicats, often from the extrem-left wing, still have some power. Some things that may appear normal for you appear unfair and tyranic to a part of the french population, since our republic exist we had a next to constant struggle to have a better health system (actually I think its the better in the world), work less and gain much - everybody wants that, even if sometime it is not realist. And when the right is at the power, they try to make some liberal reforms, just like this one. People don't like walk back. Functionnaries, and lot of workers works 35 hours a week. But just try to go back to the ancient system of 39 hours and you would have thousands, if not millions of people in the street.

Personnaly, Im against this law, and I have manifasted this morning - nothing violent in my city, Brest. Im not concerned directly by the law simply because Im a medicine studient and Im sure to have a good work when my studies would be over, without a boss kicking me out after 2 years because it is cheaper for him. But it concerns some of my friends, and a good part of french youth. We call this "la sécurité de l'emploi", the work safety, when you got a job, it is not normal - for us - to be kicked without valuable reason, only because the boss would earn more cash doing this than keeping his enginer after 2 years... btw, just imagine you are used to live in a system like this, you don't want a law like this to pass...

The reform itself got a good goal: to decrease unemployement between the young people, but the risk is to be kicked by your boss after 2 years without goals.

I hope you got me

**Justinian** · March 28, 2006, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by Agraes

Functionnaries, and lot of workers works 35 hours a week. But just try to go back to the ancient system of 39 hours and you would have thousands, if not millions of people in the street.

35? 39? What is with you people, we have to work 40 hours a week at least here in the States . . . though most people generally have to work overtime, like my brother, who was probably doing 10 hour workdays when Black Friday came along...

Damn you French ... I want to move.

**Ulf** · March 28, 2006, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by Justinian

35? 39? What is with you people, we have to work 40 hours a week at least here in the States . . . though most people generally have to work overtime, like my brother, who was probably doing 10 hour workdays when Black Friday came along...

Damn you French ... I want to move.

I agree. At the moment, i'm only working about 35 hours per week but thats because it's winter and my company doesn't get a whole lot of business in the winter. In the summer though, i'll be working easily 50 hours per week usually closer to 60.

**Ahlerich** · March 28, 2006, 02:46 PM

that must have been a bad hairdresser if they gas him

**RusskiSoldat** · March 28, 2006, 03:17 PM

Why exactly is this a bad law?
Somehow giving people jobs and employers the right to fire lazy morons who don't deserve the job with no prior notice seems fair to me.
Then again, I am just a lunatic Stalinist.

**Kanaric** · March 28, 2006, 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by RusskiSoldat

Why exactly is this a bad law?
Somehow giving people jobs and employers the right to fire lazy morons who don't deserve the job with no prior notice seems fair to me.
Then again, I am just a lunatic Stalinist.

lol, no. He would just throw the lazy morons in a gulag, lol.

Yes these people should be fired, their just steriotypicaly spoiled yuppies who are upset that they lost their job at the gap.

**Sidus Preclarum** · March 28, 2006, 07:21 PM

Originally Posted by RusskiSoldat

Why exactly is this a bad law?
Somehow giving people jobs and employers the right to fire lazy morons who don't deserve the job with no prior notice seems fair to me.

Repeat your sentence, but just replace the "lazy morons who don't deserve the job" by "anybody" , realize it's the whole point of the law, and you understand what the problem is...

**allthesedamnnamesaretaken** · March 28, 2006, 03:31 PM

i too, cannot see what this law is required. can we get an (english-speaking) french-economist in there to explain why people under 25 need to be fired without reason?

**Kanaric** · March 28, 2006, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by allthesedamnnamesaretaken

i too, cannot see what this law is required. can we get an (english-speaking) french-economist in there to explain why people under 25 need to be fired without reason?

Whats funny, is that the law isn't needed. They could just call them lazy idiots and fire them just the same.