Catherwood LibraryILR School

Following over a year of overwhelming social tension in France regarding President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’s controversial proposal to radically reform French labor laws, the government has decided to push through with its plans in the face of nearly unanimous opposition from French labor groups. Given the government’s apparent indifference to unions’ demonstrations thus far and with only half the estimated number of attendees at last week’s CGT union rally, it would appear that organized labor’s voice is growing weaker as the reforms become more concrete. La France Insoumise, CGT, CFDT, and Force Ouvriere, the largest unions in all of France, have all announced individual plans of action for their members and are even planning joint protests and strikes within similar industries in order to fight what they feel are the insidious implications of these legal reforms. Many French workers feel that the changes to France’s 35-hour work week and hiring and firing legislation mean not only massive change for labor but also a shift in the social order; however, proponents of the reform claim that it mainly aims to decrease France’s staggering unemployment rate.