President Emmanuel Macron has formally signed five decrees overhauling France’s labour rules. These are the first major economic reforms since he went into power in May and will be published next week in the Official Journal, entering into force at the same time.
Macron hailed the signing as ‘historic’ in front of cameras
“Never has a reform of such magnitude been made since the beginning of the Fifth Republic. And never has a reform been made in so few months. This follows dozens of hours of parliamentary debate, about 80 hours and more than 300 hours of consultation with social partners to refound the philosophy of our labor law, its state of mind, with profound effects on employment, especially for younger and less skilled workers “
Macron signs French labor reform decrees https://t.co/y4qmUq6NIy pic.twitter.com/LyJLj8DMrA— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) September 22, 2017
The government says it wants to “strengthen social dialogue”. An opinion not shared by protestors from several unions on Thursday. These are second protests to take place over the reforms in just 10 days. But unions are struggling to present a common front in the social dispute.
