Saturday, March 18, 2006

Protesting an idea to make the country stronger

In France.

In case you hadn't heard, French youth have been rioting and destroying a McDonald's (?) to protest a new labor law that would make their jobs more liable to termination by companies. How liable? Here:

The law would allow businesses to fire young workers in the first two years on a job without giving a reason, removing them from protections that restrict layoffs of regular employees.

Companies are often reluctant to add employees because it is hard to let them go if business conditions worsen. Students see a subtext in the new law: make it easier to hire and fire to help France compete in a globalizing world economy. [emphases added]


Wow. It's a good thing the French youth don't live in Texas. In this state you can be fired for practically any reason at any time. Quite an incentive to do a good job and make the boss happy.

But, the rioters obviously don't have any respect for competition or doing anything to improve their economy beyond collecting a paycheck. Seriously. Here's how one group of radicals proposes increasing the well-being of their nation:
In Marseille, extreme leftist youths climbed the facade of City Hall, replacing a French flag with a banner reading "Anticapitalism."

In other words, "Kick out the capitalist pigs and our jobs will be secure." Except, who would they work for, then?

No word on whether the protesters are largely immigrants or even Muslim, but this quote is suggestive of the answer:
Youth joblessness stands at 23 percent nationwide, and 50 percent among impoverished young people. The lack of work was blamed in part for the riots that shook France's depressed suburbs during the fall.

There is one upside to this news article, though. At least only four cars were burned in Paris.

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