STRIKES ARE JUST OPPORTUNITIES:

Sarkozy Vows Reform: How Far Can He Go?: France's center-right President-elect has plans for labor and the economy, but those changes may not be big enough to satisfy the business community (Carol Matlack, 5/07/07, Business Week)

[E]ven Sarkozy's strong showing at the polls—just over 53%, with a near-record 85% turnout—won't easily translate into an overhaul of the country's stagnating economy.

Getting legislation enacted won't be a problem, because Sarkozy's center-right UMP party is likely to win a comfortable majority in parliamentary elections next month. But labor unions are already threatening strikes over some of his proposals, such as his plan to encourage people to work more than the current maximum 35-hour work week, by exempting them from taxes on overtime hours.

To defuse the labor protests, Sarkozy and his government will have to rally the country behind his program. Otherwise, the strikes could spiral into a crippling public backlash, as happened last year when mass protests forced the former center-right government to withdraw an unpopular youth employment law.

Isn't the point of the election to stop doing what's popular in France and start doing what's popular in the Anglosphere?

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 12, 2007 12:00 AM