France Approves Major Labor Reform Package

By Sarah DiLorenzo – France’s parliament has passed a package of significant labor reforms Tuesday (may 14) that the government hopes will help halt rising unemployment and jumpstart the country’s stagnant economy.

One of the main measures of the bill allows companies to temporarily cut workers’ salaries or hours during times of economic difficulty. This measure takes its inspiration from Germany, where furloughs have been credited with allowing companies to weather difficult times without resorting to massive layoffs.

Several measures are also aimed at making it less daunting for employees to change jobs. French contracts are known for the tremendous protections they afford workers and as those benefits increase, the longer an employee stays with a company. While it is frequently noted that these contracts make employers reluctant to hire, they can also make employees more likely to stay put in stable jobs. When no one moves, it becomes harder for the unemployed to find work. more> http://tinyurl.com/a2r6w5d

Related>

• France passes reform to ease hire-and-fire rules, Mark John and Nicholas Vinocur, Reuters/Yahoo

Views from the Solar System (124)

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Springtime in the Bay of Biscay
NASA – Springtime in the Bay of Biscay, off the coast of France, as in most places, is a season of abundant growth. On April 20, 2013, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of the dynamic growth of a springtime phytoplankton bloom.

The swirling colors indicate the presence of vast numbers of phytoplankton – tiny plant-like microorganisms that live in both fresh and salt water. Although these organisms live year-round in the Bay of Biscay, it is only when conditions are right that explosive blooms occur. In spring, the lengthening sunlight, the increased nutrient load swept into the Bay from ocean currents and from snowmelt carried by freshwater rivers, combined with warming waters create the perfect conditions to spur phytoplankton in to tremendous growth. The result is a swirling, multi-hued discoloration that can be easily seen from space.

Each year, typically from March through April, such blooms occur in the Bay of Biscay. By May, however, conditions are not as favorable and the blooms fade, then disappear Image Credit: NASA GSFC

Europe finance tax to net tens of billions of euros: France

Reuters – France plans to implement a tax on financial transactions at the end of 2014 and believes the levy to be rolled out by 11 European countries will raise “tens of billions of euros” a year, its finance minister said.

The 27-member European Union gave the go-ahead on Tuesday to 11 countries pledging to impose a tax that was proposed 40 years ago by American economist James Tobin but never got off the ground internationally. more> http://tinyurl.com/ajb93tq

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• UPDATE 1-EU states to get blessing for financial trading tax (uk.reuters.com)
• EU group gets go-ahead for financial transaction tax (theglobeandmail.com)
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France delays move to make Web giants pay for networks

By Leila Abboud – France backed away from legislation to make Internet companies including Google pay for the burden they place on telecommunications networks, opting instead to ask a commission to study the controversial issue.

France’s Socialist government is concerned that Web giants weigh down networks with traffic without contributing to telecom companies’ investments in high-speed systems, echoing a position held by European telecom operators.

Big Web companies like Facebook, Google and Netflix reject the idea of paying telecom operators to have their content reach customers. more> http://tinyurl.com/bf2d4x6

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• France delays move to make Web giants pay for networks (news.yahoo.com)
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In France, Nothing Says ‘Happy New Year’ Like a Burning Car

By Bruce Crumley – France celebrated the onset of 2013 in its uniquely pyromaniac fashion, with officials reporting that 1,193 cars were torched overnight from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 — 209 of them in the Paris area alone.

Indeed, the rest of the world first took notice of France’s distinctive car-burning penchant during the three weeks of nationwide rioting in French housing projects in 2005, when 8,810 automobiles were incinerated by enraged youths. Yet, despite that riot-driven surge of car arson, year-end figures of around 43,000 for 2005 came in at around normal levels. Normal, that is, for flame-happy France. more> http://tinyurl.com/bdusys4

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• Torching Cars Continues To Be France’s Hottest New Year’s Eve Tradition (jalopnik.com)
• In France, Nothing Says ‘Happy New Year’ Like a Burning Car (world.time.com)
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• France counts 1,193 cars torched on New Year’s Eve (kmov.com)
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