Recently, French businesses have been struggling with labor shortages in the wake of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. These labor shortages are most significant in the construction, agriculture, transportation, and nursing sectors. In response, the French government has proposed two policies to encourage workforce participation - a fast-tracked legalization process for undocumented workers to help fill jobs in sectors with staffing shortages and a tighter unemployment program to push people back into the workforce. However, these plans have been met with great opposition from both the right and the left of the political spectrum.
See "Labor shortages in France cause government to propose immigration and unemployment policy changes", Liz Alderman , New York Times, December 23, 2022