A Case of the blues

Allez les Bleus, Allez les Bleus! A popular French chant often heard bellowing out around the Stade de France in Paris. As the footballers impressively advanced their way to the final of the European championships this Summer, support grew all around the country in their bid to become champions of Europe for the 3^rd time.

However, despite the strong recent performance of their national soccer team, France's economy is losing by a cricket score to the rest of Europe. The nation showed massive support for their side during the tournament, however they're not doing themselves any favours when it comes to their economic performance in the global arena. While stadia in every corner of the hexagon turned blue, so too, quite frankly, have the faces of its députés.

Australia, Canada, the UK and the US: typically the most popular destinations for Irish emigrants and graduates.

Only a fraction of our ‘Generation Emigration’ have chosen France as a suitable destination to set out their stalls. The reality is, however, that it’s not just us. Young working professionals from all over the world, aiming to kick-start or advance their careers, will naturally choose to immerse themselves in an environment bursting with opportunity. Sadly, the French labour market is not very conducive to such an environment. Furthermore, the country’s ability – or lack thereof – to attract recent graduates is an economic indicator in itself!

In order for the country to preserve its reputation as one of Europe's top economic powerhouses, it must change its ways. But where do they start? The 35 hour working week first springs to mind. First introduced in 2000, the rationale behind the 35 hour legal work limit was to serve as an antidote for unemployment, and also to further the quality of life. While this measure has been arguably ineffective in directly reducing the rate of unemployment, it has immensely facilitated the French mode de vie – as if they needed any encouragement…

While studying there, I would walk through the city during lunchtime, only to see restaurants and brasseries buzzing with activity. Come 12 o’clock, hundreds of workers would descend upon the city centre every day for some fine dining during their two hour lunch break - often seated outdoors basking in the midday sun, accompanied by large carafes of red wine. I would think to myself –“the French have got it all figured out, they are nailing it at life”.

While I still dream of this very attractive lifestyle, the long term consequences for their economy’s productivity are being felt. The world is rapidly moving forward, and I fear France is the one being left behind. It goes without saying that safeguarding one’s culture is indispensable – and nobody does it better than the French – however, when your employment law, general work ethic, and pace of life all begin to form a vicious circle around your economy, something’s got to change.

Bleak European forecasts for the country hold growth at a mere 1.4 per cent for the remainder of this year, and don’t expect unemployment (still in the region of 10 per cent) to decline until 2017.

Alas, at the beginning of this year a whopping 588 page bill was drafted incorporating a set of structural reforms to the country’s labour law. For many years, especially post-recession, French companies have been reluctant to take on new workers given the level of difficulty involved in firing employees. El Khormi’s bill - essentially proposing a relaxation of workers’ rights - aims to tackle some of the major aspects of French employment law curtailing economic recovery. Upon the introduction of this set of proposals however, the bill was heavily opposed in the form of days of extremely violent protests. This eventually led to certain reforms being forfeited in order to restore some order to the country’s capital. One step forward, two steps back.

"France, France, France, I just love France". Those who know me will wonder why someone who is so taken by French culture, lifestyle, and language is suddenly berating the country. Think of it like this: every year you rent the same house somewhere for a few weeks' holidays. Although the landlord isn't very helpful, you give out about the neighbours sometimes, and the shower doesn't work as well as you'd like it to, it's still an incredible house with a great location and stunning views. Some day you might even like to move there! But you just want to make sure that everything is perfect before you do.

Two years ago, after several days of protests in France, Monsieur Hugot (my landlord at the time), said to me – "La manifestation, c'est comme le sport national".  Looking back on that now, if the French were as good at soccer as they are at going on strike, they'd still be celebrating their 3^rd European Championship victory.